Star Fox: Veria
by Sheppard Studios
Summary: [S/H/W] Corneria knows the events of the First Contact war too well. The Cornerians know they won't be able to rebuild peacefully; especially since a previous ally has suddenly turned hostile because of the skirmish. Every day peace negotiations fall flat between the two powers, it just adds more fuel for yet another war. It will only take one spark to light it. [Read latest chap]
1. Hard to Believe (Prologue)

**A/N: It's here. After about two months of planning (even when FC was still going), countless ideas, and a brief vacation, it's finally here.**

 **Before you guys start throwing praise at me, I can't accept all of it. I'd like to give a huge shoutout to Wingcommander WhiteWolf here on FF for essentially creating this story. I wouldn't be writing this if he wasn't here. He came up with most of the ideas, and a major, *major* part that this story that it completely revolves around. Again, I think he deserves more thanks and praise than I do.**

 **As said before, this is a sequel to First Contact, and being a sequel it takes many things from the first installment. If you guys are rusty in your knowledge of the events of FC, I would brush up on them first before I'd continue. If you're lazy and don't want to take the time and do so, then just wait until I'm done rambling so that you can take it from one of our main characters very soon.**

 **So, I hope you guys enjoy the sequel, and trust me; you will be confused, but that will be cleared later. I'm extremely open to feedback, so anything you guys want to say about this story please feel free to let me know. Any feedback (except for flamers) is greatly appreciated.**

 **I know the genres above say Sci-fi and Drama, but there's a bit of everything in this story that cannot be listed, such as suspense, romance, hurt/comfort, and many others. This has a bit of everything for everyone to enjoy. Also, fair warning, this story can and will contain ideologically sensitive material, so read at your own discretion. This story is rated T now, but that may change if I deem it necessary to raise the rating.**

 **Again guys, I hope you enjoy the sequel to the most successful story I've had on this site. Here's hoping we can exceed those numbers eh? Wishful thinking... I'll shut myself up now so you can enjoy the first chapter of Star Fox: Veria. Take care fellas!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Hard to Believe (Prologue)**

* * *

Can you believe a huge war started because of a simple accident?

Can you believe millions perished because of one little screw-up in a human satellite's construction?

Can you believe so many others tried to enact revenge for their loved ones, but instead made the death toll higher?

I know I can't. I _still_ can't. And that was six years ago too!

Damn… it's hard to believe that was six years ago. Seems like yesterday.

Seems like yesterday one unfortunate and unintended mistake was turned into ammunition for a very brutal war. Granted, a simple mistake shouldn't merit open warfare, but when millions die because of it, the action very well could be considered an attack. Scratch that, it _was_ considered an attack. For the longest time most of the greatest, well-respected, and honored Cornerian Defense Force officers believed the human's satellite that malfunctioned and plummeted to the surface, detonating in a cataclysmic explosion and vaporizing most of Corneria City was an attack, and retaliatory actions were the first option on a very short list of resolves. They didn't take any accident claim into consideration, and just stormed in and returned the favor.

It was the worst mistake they could've ever made.

Yeah, we destroyed Earth cities and killed millions too, but what was the justification for it? At least the humans had a solid explanation for how and why our kind died, but how can we explain why we killed their kind in a believable way that doesn't make us seem like impulsive and heartless bastards? They would be stupid to accept the "impulse" explanation. And there's no way _they_ would take the blame for causing the satellite to malfunction, because they didn't cause it to in the first place. It wasn't intentional.

Man… If I had a credit for every time I heard that phrase, I'd be rich.

Sometimes it just felt like talking to a brick wall in trying to explain what went wrong. They were just too caught up in their blind rage and blood lust to even give two shits about people trying to stop them. I would know – I tried. My brother tried. Everyone that had a singular functioning brain cell in between their ears tried to get the war to stop.

It took one incident to make them realize what they were doing was not the right idea.

I'm not talking about how we managed to talk some sense into them on that last day. That was a miracle in and of itself. What I'm talking about is the last attack by the humans that almost compromised the main framework of the CDF entirely. I can still hear the whirring and screaming of that colossal gun to this day. One shot from that ship was all it took to completely obliterate three of our most fortified cruisers.

My father – bless his soul – lost his ship in that attack. Hell, who am I kidding? He lost his life that day. It's still heartbreaking just thinking about it. He could've prevented all of that if he would've just listened.

I still remember watching from that window on the other Destroyer six years ago, after the Great Fox was hit and destroyed… watching my father go completely insane… watching him put a gun up to my brother's girlfriend's head… and… watching my brother shoot him to protect her.

I miss the old dad. Not the insane and enraged one, but the kind and compassionate one. Why'd he have to change?

I wanted my father to understand the truth, but… I didn't want him to die like that. I may not have expressed it during the last few days of the war, but I loved him. He was my father. He was that perfect father every kit dreamed of before the war started. After that… I hate to admit it… but I didn't love him. I _couldn't_ love that madman because of the terrible things he did. The things that he would never want me to do. The things I will never follow him on.

Truth be told, I wanted to follow in his footsteps for the longest time. After the war, and after everything started to look upward for us, I _did_ try to follow through. I enlisted in the flight academy as soon as I was of age. I graduated with honors; paralleling the records set by my own father a long, long time ago. I had the life of a fighter pilot set before me, and all I had to do was follow through.

But… I got to thinking… That's actually not what I wanted to do with my life.

I had seen too much death and destruction to go into that profession that essentially revolved around killing and destroying. I had seen enough death to try and fight. I needed something else to do that I actually _wanted_ to do, that didn't involve me risking my life to take others'.

That was when Uncle Vince stepped in.

Man, where do I even start with him? He's… in all honesty, the third greatest person that has ever come into my life. As soon as I told him I didn't want to follow through with my career as a fighter pilot, he offered me an opportunity. He had me enroll in classes that would help me realize the potential I had in technology and development. _Engineering_ , they said. I thought it was interesting, and since Vince does it for a living, I thought why not?

The instructors there were honestly impressed with how well I understood and exhibited the knowledge I gained. I was a natural. I was learning everything taught to me in no time flat. I was practically a master at the engineering arts in just two years. What took most people four years or more to learn and understand, I had done that, _and then some_ in only two, and I loved every second of it.

I was making Vince happy, and that was the least I could do for him because of how he took care of me after the war. Ever since my father died, he took me under his wing. He sacrificed so much to care for me like I was the son he never had. Doing what he wanted me to do was the least I could do to repay him for his sacrifices.

And right now, finally turning nineteen a few months prior to today, I can officially work for what Vince does for a living. As a matter of fact, I was stationed in his branch of technology as soon as I was employed by the CDF research and development department, literally the day after my nineteenth birthday. Vince is a great mentor, and I'll admit I've learned quite a bit from him in the few short months I've been working with him. I couldn't imagine what I would be doing with my life if he wasn't in it.

Then again, I mentioned that he was the _third_ greatest person that has come into my life. Who's first and second?

Obviously Wolf is number one by a long shot, and that in and of itself is a story and a half, but who would take second place then?

…I'm going to go see her right now… …Just as soon as I figure out where this last piece goes…

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

 **Cornerian Defense Force HQ**

The red-orange fox's nose was practically within centimeters of a small chip he was carefully implementing into his transmitter. His nose twitched as he cautiously wired that chip to the rest of the device, and as soon as he closed the protecting flap over the piece of equipment he heard a faint voice shout out behind him from the doorway of the lab.

"Fox! It's closing time! Pack it up!"

"Alright, gimme one more second Vinny," Fox shouted back, then tightened the screws on his transmitter. He wound the thick leather strap back on his wrist, then pulled the main screen up and poked at an option on the holographic screen. He stood there for a few extra seconds with an expectant stare – just waiting for something to happen, but the transmitter did nothing, even after he poked the intended option a few extra times.

Groaning in dissatisfaction, he pulled the sleeves of his long white lab coat back over his furry auburn colored arms as he trotted towards the door. "I just needed one more piece, Vince," Fox whined, hopping up the short set of stairs. "I'm so close to finishing this."

"You've been overworking yourself all week, buddy," Vince chuckled, patting the orange tod's back. Even though it had been six years since the war, Vince seemingly hadn't changed at all in that long period of time. The only thing that was changing on him was his age and his clothes, and the fact that he had resulted to wearing a pair of thin framed glasses that combated against his slowly deteriorating vision. In all honesty, he looked really good at forty years old. There wasn't a single gray fur on him, and he still kept his lean stature and his same short spiked up white hair. He could have been mistaken for someone in their late twenties – minus the glasses. He was still that thin, fragile scientist everyone came to know and love.

"I know, but I'm _sooo_ close to finishing this project," Fox moaned with a grin. If you thought Fox looked like his father when he was thirteen, he was even more so now that he was a young adult. He had the same height, surprisingly the same weight, and roughly the same voice as his late father. Sometimes Vince would get mistaken for talking with James because of how similar Fox looked and sounded to him. It still baffled the arctic fox on how the orange vulpine managed to grow taller than him in only a few years. He was easily two inches taller than Vince, and Vince wasn't short by any stretch of imagination, although Fox outweighed him by over sixty pounds of pure muscle.

"What is this project you've been working on anyway?" Vince asked, readjusting his glasses for the umpteenth time this day. He had been wearing them for over three years now, but he still couldn't get over the weird feeling of having those spectacles perched on his muzzle.

"I told you, it's a surprise," Fox explained with a smirk. "You'll get to see it when it's done."

"You truly are a great inventor, Fox," the white fox chuckled. "Not letting anyone else see your work until it's complete."

"It'll be worth it, believe me," Fox assured, removing the pure white lab coat and revealing a dark blue short sleeved V-neck. It was noticeably small, so it showed off every toned muscle in the vulpine's body very well. It was honestly impressive to see how fit the vulpine was considering the fact he was locked in a lab for eight hours a day, maybe even more in some instances. You would think he'd be out of shape with his line of work, but he was far from it.

He sighed and slicked his cream colored mohawk back into place, then gave a subtle sheepish grin at the arctic fox. "Hey, I'll catch up with you later," he announced, inching closer towards another hallway as the duo entered the main lobby.

"Just where do you think you're going?" Vince asked tauntingly, smirking all the while.

"Just to see my girl," Fox replied instantly. "I'll be back home before sundown, I promise."

"Alright, just remember you need to pick up Jake, m'kay?"

"Yeah, I'll make sure to get him," Fox affirmed, then spun around and trotted down the hallway. "See you later, Uncle Vince!"

"Take care kiddo," he heard the white vulpine shout before he wound the corner.

The CDF HQ was the very first building to get repaired after the human satellite explosion. Instead of fixing up the damaged portions, they decided to completely renovate the area that was devastated after a stray skyscraper toppled on top of it. While reparations were still in progress, they managed to alter the construction slightly to squeeze in more space for extra docking bays and more barracks, and the latter option was where the orange vulpine was heading towards. Well, towards the mess hall of the barracks in question at least.

He pushed open the door of one of the many mess halls of the CDF HQ after draping his lab coat over his shoulder, and almost instantly afterwards he saw the vixen he was searching for, sitting at a round table with three other female soldiers. The one he had his sights on was rather small and slim, but she did not lack beauty by any stretch of imagination. Her dull blue-gray, almost slivery coat of fur with a texture that resembled sand wrapped around her cheeks and face, but was abruptly cut off by a sleek granite black color for her pointed slender muzzle and ears. Those two pointy ears stuck out of full her head of shimmering wavy silver hair that flowed beyond her shoulder blades like two black traffic cones – increasing her ability to stand out in a crowd. Another thing that stuck this particular vixen out was her piercing red-orange eyes that damn near mirrored the pigment in Fox's fur, something the vulpine in question has never seen before on another living person except for her. Smiling, he trotted up to the table and slipped into the open seat next to the silver vixen.

"Fox!" she yipped, tightly wrapping her arms around the vulpine. Fox grunted as she applied more pressure, then suddenly felt the vixen sneak in a quick kiss on the side of his muzzle, making the vulpine turn redder than his fur.

"I missed you too Arcene," he chuckled sheepishly, letting the vixen rest her head on his shoulder. "How've you been doing?"

"Oh, I'm _great_!" Arcene replied in her somewhat deep, but always energetic and bubbly voice. She just seemed to jitter with excitement everywhere she went, especially with the vulpine sitting next to her. "We just had routine training exercises today. No different than any other day."

"Don't you ever get bored of training?" Fox asked. Arcene almost immediately shook her head, shaking her silky slightly curled locks in the process.

"It's a bunch of fun! I love helping people, especially the little kits. And besides, I've never had to pull the trigger on anyone anyways."

The tallest of the three female canines nearly choked on her water, then once she had a full gasp of air she laughed out loud softly. "Don't worry, Corporal Grau, you will."

"Well, of course _you_ would think that DJ," Arcene retorted. "You fought in that war."

"And there's another war on the horizon," the shepherd DJ replied frankly, munching on some suspicious looking morsels on her tray.

Arcene cocked her head. "What do you mean there's another war coming?"

"Do you really think the Verians won't try and launch an attack?" DJ questioned. "They're still pissed at us because of what we did to the humans, and if these peace talks keep falling through we've got another fight on our paws."

"Verians?" Arcene echoed confusedly. DJ groaned in disbelief and slammed her forehead onto the table, causing her tray and the surrounding trays to clatter slightly. Fox suppressed a laugh, then turned to explain to the seemingly oblivious vixen.

"Veris Alpha, the massive class M planet not too far away from us?" Fox said in a tone to try and jog the vixen's memory. Arcene shook her head, and Fox chuckled even more as he rubbed his forehead. "Basically, the Verians are a very ancient specie – a dragonoid race. They've been around this system for millennia, and they show for it because of their cutting-edge technology and impressive military tactics; something we've always shown pride in ourselves. They're heavily oriented around royalty and older styles of government and military, but that doesn't mean they aren't dangerous, and as a matter of fact they may be stronger than us in terms of military. They've got a strict honor system in regards to the Lylat System, and because of what we did to the humans they're… not too fond of us right now."

"And they're gonna kick our tails if we can't figure out a way to get back on their good side," DJ grumbled, still with her forehead implanted into the table. "Look at their soldiers and weaponry," she said with a worried inflection as she flicked her head up, shaking the soot-filled hair out of her eyes. "We'll get flattened if we start a war with them."

"Alright, settle down DJ," Fox nearly chuckled, setting his arms on the table. "Don't freak the poor little girl out. We'll be fine. If they attempt to attack, we'll prove to them we aren't someone to be messed with."

"Okaaayy," the tall shepherd cooed with a smile, standing up out of her seat and grabbing her empty tray. "But when war breaks out again, you know where to find me."

Fox shook his head and chortled softly as DJ and her two friends walked away from the table. He then turned back to the silver fox and gave a warm and tender smile which instantly melted her inner fears.

"Don't worry Arcene, we'll be fine," the vulpine assured, embracing her thin but curvy frame tightly. "She's just paranoid. Now, are you done with training for today?"

"Yeah, why?" she asked as she backed off of the tod.

"Well," Fox started, blushing up a bit more than he'd be comfortable with. Arcene noticed his discomfort and stifled a giggle, mainly because she thought it was so cute and adorable that he was still somewhat shy around her despite the two of them being together for a rather long interval of time. "I know I've been putting a lot of time into my work as of recently, but since Vince made me close up early today, you wanna go do something while I've got the time off?"

"Oh my god, Fox, I'd love to!" she squealed with a wide smile. "What do you want to do?"

"Well, first off, I need to pick Jake up, but after that you just want to chill at my place? Just us two?"

Arcene giggled slightly. "It won't be _just_ us two with Vince and Jake home, but I accept your offer. …I haven't seen Jake in forever; how is he?"

"He's alright," Fox answered, standing up and waiting for the sliver vixen to pack up her belongings into a small bag sitting under the table. "Still has trouble walking, but that's not his fault. His birthday was last week too. Can you believe that little dude is five already?"

"Seriously?" Arcene gapped with eyes wide. "Seems like yesterday you brought him in and explained how…" she trailed off as she noticed the vulpine's uncharacteristically down expression. She threw the bag over her shoulder and nuzzled closer to him, purring slightly for good measure. "I'm sorry Fox, I… I didn't mean to bring it up."

"No, you're fine," Fox assured, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "I can't see Jake without thinking of him either. I feel bad for the little kit too; he never got to see his real father, and he doesn't remember his mother either."

"Wait, is Ashley ok?"

Fox scoffed in disgust. "I honestly couldn't care less with what happened to her. As far as I know she's still in the CDF, but when she's off-duty you can find her at the nearest strip club, whoring herself to other emotionally broken people hoping one will give her the slightest bit of affection. She didn't care about Jake, and in fact she put him up for adoption almost as soon as she had him. I was lucky Vince and I visited the hospital when we did, 'cause who knows what would've happened to the poor little kit. He may only be my half-brother, but _my_ brother cared for me even when he wasn't a blood relative, so I figured I'd take a page from his book and take care of Jake."

Arcene shuffled her feet slightly and wedged herself underneath the tod's arm. "You're a great brother to him, Fox. He's lucky to have a sibling like you."

"Thanks Arcy," Fox grinned, tightening his hold on the vixen. "Here, I'll explain a bit more about 'em on the way to get him. Come on."

Fox gently dragged Arcene along with him as the couple slipped out of the mess hall and began a long trek towards the lot where the vulpine had parked his car. Fox still got a chuckle out of how the vixen walked next to him. Since Fox was just a quarter-inch shy of six feet tall, and Arcene had just scratched the surface of five foot seven, she tried her best to not look overly diminutive next to the vulpine. What she did was since she couldn't prop herself on the orange fox, she tried to stay in the air as much as possible. Because of the vixen's exceptionally high vigor and endurance, she was constantly jumping and moving her feet, which always made Fox laugh at just how much energy she actually had.

"Arceeeene," Fox groaned, wrapping his arms around her stomach to try and stop her bouncy movements. "Chill out; you've got way too much energy."

"Sorry, I just get really hyper when I'm around you," Arcene answered, letting the vulpine practically carry her down the hallway.

"You're always hyper," Fox corrected. "How do the trainers even put up with you during training?"

She shrugged and broke Fox's hold. "They say high energy and endurance makes for a good fighter. I can't sit still enough to do actual distance warfare, but close quarters fighting is my forte."

"Come on; you couldn't hurt a bug."

"As if," she scoffed. "I almost broke one of the trainer's wrists during a sparring match last week."

"And then what?" Fox asked tauntingly. "You stopped and asked if he was ok, then took him down to the infirmary, right?"

Arcene opened her muzzle, but slowly shut it as she lowered her head. "Yes," she mumbled in defeat.

"See?" the vulpine chuckled. "All that energy is great, but you need to get some muscle and toughness behind it for it to be useful."

"But Fox, I'm not going into actual combat," Arcene started, grabbing one of his arms and tightly grasping it against her chest. "I'm training to be a combat medic, remember?"

"Yeah, with your jumpiness and inability to sit still for more than a few minutes; good luck."

"Hey, I've got enough control," she argued, drumming her paws on his auburn colored arm. "Like I said, I just can't stand still around you. You make me too happy and excited."

Fox smiled and wrapped his other arm around the silver fox. "Aww, I love you too Arcy."

Arcene grinned even larger as she suddenly spun around and hugged the taller vulpine wholeheartedly. Fox stopped to allow the affection, then once she picked her head up he pressed his nose against hers. Arcene knew what was coming next since he had done this countless times before, so she cracked her muzzle open just slightly, and without a moment of hesitation Fox attacked her lips with his own. It was a very gentle kiss since they were still in public, but it was a loving action so that's all the vixen wanted. Fox relished in her warmth for a few extra seconds, then eventually backed away with a large, yet sheepish grin creasing his muzzle.

"Alright, you've had your fun," Fox chuckled, scratching at his neck. "We really should get going."

"I'll race you!" Arcene shouted before bolting off at top speed, nearly slipping on the glossy floor when it came time to turn down another hallway. Fox laughed to himself while shaking his head as her black and white-tipped tail disappeared around the corner, then took his sweet time in chasing after her.

Fox calmly trotted through the main lobby and out the reconstructed front doors, then walked across the parking lot to his father's old parking space – occupied by his father's old car. He was extremely puzzled on how the car was already running, and how Arcene was waiting in the passenger seat with her arm hanging out of the window, her sand textured silver fur getting rustled by the spring breeze.

Fox instinctively patted his left back pocket on his pants, then sighed as he approached the car. "How'd you swipe my keys?" he questioned with a smirk.

"I'm not gonna reveal my secrets," she giggled in a rather seductive voice, twirling her hair with her clawed fingers. Fox grinned back, shook his head, then walked around the car and slipped into the driver's seat. Since he didn't have to worry about starting the vehicle, he immediately pulled the car out of the parking space, and in no time flat was on city streets with all of the windows down.

Fox couldn't keep a straight face as he saw Arcene's hair and ears flapping in the wind. She had a pleasured smile on her granite black muzzle as she relaxed in the glow of the sunlight seeping in through the open window. Every black or silvery colored fur on her body was well defined by the sunlight, and her deep orange eyes seemed to compliment the sky outside perfectly.

It was an instance strikingly similar to this current moment years ago that Fox instantly fell in love with the vixen. Minutes after he had just graduated with honors from the Cornerian Flight Academy, Fox was making his way from the assembly hall to the old black sports car that he had inherited from his father, still with his ceremonial apparel on. Just as he had unlocked his vehicle, he saw the silver vixen struggling with her own vehicle with the hood up. Fox, being the helpful vulpine literally anyone could count on, was almost immediately back out in the parking lot and to the girl's rescue.

After fixing up her car, which just happened to be an unplugged wire to her battery, he turned to face her and saw the same exact expression he was staring at in his car now. He instantly fell in love with that adorable dull sliver furred face, her gorgeous wavy locks, and her piercing orange eyes, along with her picturesque slender body and intoxicating smile. They exchanged names and numbers, and pretty soon Fox was calling her every single day whenever he had the chance. They talked for hours at a time, and eventually they started visiting each other frequently. He discovered that Arcene was quite an intelligent girl in the medicinal department, albeit extremely hyperactive at times. However, Fox genuinely loved her personality, and he thought it complimented her drop-dead gorgeous looks perfectly. They had developed quite a friendship over time all because of a disconnected battery wire.

In fact, the orange tod will never forget the moment they had finally taken their friendship to the next level. It was a day at her house, and just like always, they were just talking and sharing stories like they had done countless times before. This time was somewhat different, however, as Arcene was acting a bit more playful than usual. In no time, the two foxes had found themselves in a rather humorous match of trash talking each other – just trying to see who could make the other crack first with rather harsh but sarcastic name calling. Fox considered himself the victor after she had broken down into laughter at one of his remarks, but his assumptions were proven wrong when she started a playful wrestling match with him, and he ended up losing spectacularly. Fox voluntarily let himself get pinned down by the smaller vixen, and as he was laughing and panting she gloated over her captive with a pleasured smile. Their eyes met, the sparks flew almost instantly afterward, and all Fox remembers afterward was Arcene slowly inching her muzzle towards his and locking herself into their first genuine kiss. In fact, both of them accepted the kiss so openly that they continued exchanging affection gestures with each other for over five minutes afterwards, sometimes with an intensity that was almost feral, and never once did either of them complain. They were officially a couple.

Ever since then, those two have been inseparable. Although both Fox and Arcene found themselves buried up to their necks in work because of their respective responsibilities, the auburn vulpine made it a habit to visit her at least once or twice a week when appropriate. In fact, he couldn't even remember the last time he had the vixen in his car. It was a rare occurrence nowadays, so he savored this moment for as long as he physically could.

"So, Fox, why's Jake having trouble walking?" Arcene asked suddenly, pushing some stray hairs out of her face.

"Well, it's honestly a miracle he's alive," Fox admitted frankly. "When the Great Fox was hit with that human missile, she hit the ground with so much force that it injured a lot of people, even with the shock absorbers. Ashley got severe trauma because of it, and actually they discovered she was pregnant while examining her. She was in a coma for a while because of the impact, and a combination of that, and the actual trauma itself affected Jake's development."

"Oh my god," Arcene whispered. "Is he fine other than that?"

"Amazingly, yes," Fox answered. "Other than his legs, he's perfectly fine. He's got some special braces to help with walking, but the fact that he's only five years old… it's cumbersome for him to use them."

"Poor fella," Arcene sighed.

"Yeah, but he's a fighter," the vulpine grinned. "He's trying to get better at it. He's got my father's determination, that's for sure."

"I never met your father, Fox," the vixen admitted abruptly, glancing over at him. "If you don't mind, would you tell me what he was like?"

Fox let out a long breath of air through his nose as he let all of his muscles relax. "My father was a brave, hard-working, faithful, and compassionate man. He was everything a father should be. He was actually so compassionate that he essentially adopted Wolf and cared for him like he was his own kit… Damn, that was eleven years ago… It doesn't feel like eleven years… not even close…"

Fox sniffed and switched lanes, continuing his story in the process. "Six years ago, when that human satellite hit, my father took a huge swing in mental state. He went from what I just told you, to essentially the opposite. He changed into an angry, short-tempered, unfaithful mess. He was literally inconsolable for what felt like forever. I think it took me snapping at him and telling him I hated him one day to finally break him out of it, but by then it was far too late."

Arcene noticed tears forming in the tod's emerald eyes, but right as she was going to tell him to stop he just kept talking, his voice noticeably faltering a bit. "He lost his mind. He claimed he saw an apparition of my mother – who died in the blast – while he was on a hospital bed recovering from a mental breakdown. He tried to apologize for how he acted, and Wolf actually negotiated with him and the old General Pepper to finally end the war, but right when we were going to pull out… that's when the humans attacked one last time."

Fox curled his lips into his muzzle as he continued. "That anger came back. When he crawled out of the wreckage, he was so upset that he held a gun up to Wolf's girlfriend's head. He was going to kill her out of spite. He was absolutely livid towards Wolf for supposedly deceiving him into believing a crazy story that he himself believed in before his ship got shot down. Wolf, he… he had no other choice."

"Wolf killed your father?"

"Wolf didn't kill my father," Fox corrected in a shaky voice. "Wolf killed a madman. A monster. My father was never going to change from his broken state. He was set in his beliefs, and as a close friend once said to me, "everyone has their flaws, and eventually, their flaws will catch up to them"."

Fox reached under his shirt and revealed a golden cross hanging from a thin gold chain, then let the charm glimmer in the sunlight as he let it dangle around his neck. "My father refused to believe him, and then murdered him in cold blood. That moment right there broke my relationship with him. I couldn't tell him I loved him after that, and… even when he was six feet underground when we finally came back home, I still couldn't bring myself to tell him I loved him. I was crying because he was my father, and I couldn't love him."

Fox lowered his head slightly and let a few tears stream down his face. "Just like my friend said… he let his flaws kill him. He let his uncontrollable anger show too much, and… I can't blame Wolf for killing him. I don't know where I would be in life if he survived, honestly. He wasn't that fatherly figure anymore. He just didn't care anymore."

"Fox, you're working yourself up again," Arcene interrupted, placing a paw on his shoulder. Fox suddenly jerked the wheel and pulled the car off to the side of the road, than as soon as the car came to a complete stop he broke down; letting his head fall into the steering wheel and letting quiet sobs surface. Arcene unbuckled herself and hugged the vulpine to the best of her ability.

"It's okay," she assured, rubbing her paw on his back. "You're okay Foxie… You're ok."

"I miss him so much," Fox whispered, choking through tears.

"I know," the vixen responded, continuing her consolation attempt. "It's very hard, yet heartwarming to see you miss your father so much, even when he did the things he did."

"I don't miss him," Fox quickly corrected, a faint trace of a scowl creasing his muzzle. "I… I miss Wolf. I haven't seen him since the war ended, and I… I really miss him. I never… I never told him how much I loved him for… for putting my father out of his misery. He did me a favor, and I pushed him away because I didn't fully understand. I needed him to comfort me and help me through that time in my life, but I made him leave me alone… I haven't seen him since… and I'm kicking myself for it."

"Fox…" Arcene squeaked out, herself on the verge of tears because of seeing the orange vulpine so upset. "I… I'm sorry… I'm sorry I even brought this up."

"No, I'm glad you did," Fox replied, letting his head fall back on the headrest. His fur was stained with tears, and his green eyes were glazed red and covered in welled-up emotions. "You needed to know what my father was like. Maybe that will explain why I do the things that I do, and where they came from. I took a lot from my father, but what I didn't take was his emotions during the last week of his life. I wanted to be different than him."

"And you are," Arcene butted in sweetly, drying away a few of her own tears. "You're amazing, Fox. You're everything someone like me could ever want. I'm just so happy you chose me to share your life with, and I can't tell you how happy I am when I'm around you. You're just… amazing... Fox, I… I love you so much."

The vulpine finally let a smile surface in the midst of countless tears. Running on pure instincts, he impulsively leaned forward and once again pressed his lips against hers. Arcene managed to wrap both of her arms around the vulpine and hugged him tightly while he fought a battle with her tongue. The love and affection continued for a few long minutes, and every second he spent attached to her eased his emotional pain. He loved every second of the vixen's successful attempt at consoling him, and as he backed away he showcased the sweetest smile he had ever managed as a result.

"I love you too."

* * *

 _The face of another day  
Searching for the voice of a better way  
They say it's a bad time of year to be up in arms  
So we're pushing on cause we know in our hearts  
It's the only way  
To stay afloat with the sharks at bay  
Avoid being a casualty of the circumstances  
And second chances are shredded day by day_

 _Will your legs fail you  
When you stand too straight and tall?  
Cause the world's gone mad  
The taller you are, the harder you fall_

 _Sail up into the night sky  
Until our worlds collide  
Tonight we feel alive  
Stand up where I can see you  
No reason left to hide  
Tonight we feel alive_

 _*Four Years Strong – Tonight We Feel Alive*_


	2. Ingenuity

**A/N: Wouldn't be a FC sequel without an ungodly long chapter with multiple viewpoints, eh?**

 **This is probably how the rest of this story will go too. I don't want to make one chapter exclusively dedicated to one scene, and I also don't want to deal with too many chapters, so this is my best option. I'll try not to make chapters longer than this, and hopefully go for a length in between the first chapter and this, but for all I know that may not be the case. I'll also try and be more scheduled with updates (since I wanted to get this story kicked off early on with the introduction and then this update) but again, don't count on anything. 'Sheppard' and 'consistency' cannot be used in the same sentence if they are directed towards each other.**

 **Anyway, thanks for the positive words so far. Really liking how well this has been received by you guys. I'd like to see that trend continue, so feedback is greatly encouraged. This chapter covers a lot of material, so I'd like to hear from you guys about it as usual.**

 **Another thing: from here on out I'll try and shorten my author notes at the beginning of chapters. It's not very professional, I know, but I do like to let you guys know about what's going on with me. I really do like talking with my audience, although it does feel like a monologue. Oh well. I'll still do it, but it won't be nearly as long as this one was.**

 **Hope you guys enjoy this update! Take care!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Ingenuity**

* * *

Fox drove his car up to a small family owned daycare building and parked by the front door. He let the car run as he unbuckled himself and slipped out of the vehicle. "I'll be right back Arcy," he announced as he shut the door and trotted up to the front door. A few minutes after his tail slipped behind the doorframe, he popped back out and held the door wide open, looking down and grinning at another small fox.

Arcene squealed in delight at the sight of the tiny black and white furred fox hopping out of the building. Jake, like Fox, looked almost identical to James, but in contrast, he had inherited the pure midnight black coat of fur from Ashley. His muzzle and eyebrows were the same cream color as Fox's, and his deep green eyes mimicked the older vulpine's too, but his short, spiked up snow white hair had no resemblance to any other McClouds. Just like Fox said earlier, Jake had two firm stainless steel braces wrapped around his legs, and he hopped out of the building with a set of small crutches like you would find in a hospital rehabilitation room.

"How was he today?" Arcene heard the orange vulpine say faintly.

"Just as good as always," A female robin replied cheerfully. "He's getting better without the crutches, but for now just make sure he's with them so he doesn't hurt himself."

"Will do," Fox said, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a few credits, immediately handing them to the robin. "Thanks again."

"Anytime Fox," she chirped happily. "See you again soon."

Fox smiled back and turned around to chase after the small black fox. Jake smiled widely once he saw the silver vixen in the passenger seat.

"Arcy!" he squealed in a high frequency and picked up his pace with the crutches, letting the tips of his boots touch the ground for balance. Arcene smiled happily and waved at the kit.

"Hiya Jake," she said in her characteristically upbeat voice. "How're you?"

"Good," he grunted, stopping when he came within range of the car's back seat. Fox slipped in front of him and opened the door, then grabbed the vulpine up and gently set him in the back seat. After he buckled him into the small car seat, he shut the door and trotted back up into the driver's seat.

"You have a good day, Jake?" Fox asked as he pulled away from the daycare building.

"Yeah," he replied. "Jessie tried to eat the grass today."

"The grass?" Fox laughed.

"Yeah, she's silly," the black vulpine giggled in a very childlike voice. Jake seemed to be always happy, which was rather puzzling to see from him considering his parents. Fox never complained about it either, as Jake was always well behaved and extremely playful. Fox always wondered what would have become of him if he never adopted him, but any speculations were thrown out the window since Jake was in loving care with Vince and Fox. He didn't have to worry about the kit being treated poorly by someone else.

"And what did Miss Mavis do?" Fox asked in a higher voice than he would normally be comfortable with.

"She told her not to eat that. It's gross," Jake replied, constantly keeping his wide grin on his white furred muzzle. Fox laughed along with him as he transitioned his gaze to the silver vixen, who was also grinning widely at Jake's story.

"So, Jake, I've got a surprise for you," Fox continued, smirking as he cranked his head around to the vulpine after he stopped at a traffic light.

"What is it?" the black fox asked eagerly.

"Arcy's gonna spend the night with us," the orange vulpine answered, continuously staring at the vixen next to him.

"Really?" he yipped with a wide grin.

"Sure am," Arcene instinctively replied in roughly the same tone of voice. "I… guess I just got the rest of today off."

"Cool," he remarked, then started looking out the window of the car. Arcene giggled and nudged the larger tod gently.

"You better explain to Lieutenant Green why I'm not at HQ early tomorrow morning."

"He's a big softy, he'll understand," Fox assured, turning down a narrow road towards a housing complex. "Plus, he loved me when I was a little kit during the First Contact war. He'll make an exception if he knows you were with me."

"Okay Fox, but if he doesn't I'm blaming you."

"You always blame me," Fox chuckled, pulling into a two car driveway next to a relatively large pure white house. He opened the garage door with the remote dangling from the roof of his car, but was puzzled when he saw a bright red sports car in his normal position next to Vince's black sedan. Fox pulled his car behind Vince's and turned the engine off, continuously staring at the red vehicle with narrowed eyes.

"Whose car is that?" Arcene asked, unbuckling her seatbelt.

"No idea," Fox replied, snatching his lab coat from the back seat. "I'll go see who it is. Can you get Jake out of the car, babe?"

"Absolutely," Arcene answered happily, prompting Fox to walk away and trot up to the front door of the house.

Fox still lived with Vince since they essentially did the same thing for their line of work, and it saved money in the long run, plus Fox showed no desire to leave the comfort of the arctic fox's home. It was a rather new home, consisting of two floors, a few bedrooms and bathrooms, and a large lab space in the basement just for shits and giggles. The siding on the house was a pearly white color, with the doors and windowpanes showcasing a dark navy blue. The lawn and bushes surrounding the house were well kept and tied the rest of the exquisite looking house together very well.

Fox slipped the key into the lock and unlocked the door, then felt a cool breeze as he opened the door into the well-furnished living room. There were two navy blue upholstered couches propped up against the far and right side walls, facing a coffee table in the middle of the room and a TV pressed against the near side wall. The entire floor was covered in a nice oak hardwood paneling, and that recently polished floor ran from the smallish living room into the kitchen through a hallway just at the end of the longest couch on the far wall. There were also a set of stairs leading both to the upstairs and the downstairs on the left side wall just at the start of the kitchen. It was a very comfortable house, albeit it wasn't a common occurrence for anyone to be able to relax in it unless they were sleeping. The CDF's researching job did require a lot of hours to be worked for each individual, and Fox and Vince were no exception to those guidelines.

Fox kicked off his shoes by the front door, then cupped his paws around his muzzle. "Hey Vince, I'm ho– mmhmf."

Fox was startled when a large and muscular arm cut off his call. He was about to retaliate to the unknown intruder, but instantly froze up once he heard a familiar voice speak out.

"You're on my turf now. Watch your step Fox."

"WOLF!" Fox cried out, breaking the lupine's hold and instantly embracing his frame tightly. Wolf wheezed slightly as the vulpine applied more pressure than he previously expected from him, then chuckled faintly as he returned the gesture.

"Hey Foxie," Wolf said happily, balling his paw and running it over the tod's head. "Surprised to see me?"

"I haven't seen you in forever, so yeah," Fox grinned, patting the taller lupine's shoulder. Wolf hadn't changed much since the war either, other than the fact he looked a bit taller, and strikingly stronger and more muscular. He still kept his trademark white mohawk slicked back, much like the vulpine's, and the only thing that looked different was a patch of white chest fur that was more visible than before as it peeked over his loose fitting t-shirt. Wolf chuckled again and sat down on the couch near the kitchen.

"How've you been holding up, Foxie?"

"Not bad, bro, not bad," Fox replied pragmatically, then heard the vixen's unmistakable voice resound faintly from outside the house. Wolf caught the voice too and instantly smirked.

"Who's that?" he asked almost tauntingly, crossing his legs.

"My girlfriend," Fox answered with a grin, winking at the lupine as he folded his arms confidently. "Yeah, little Foxie's got a girl too."

"Didn't know you had it in ya," Wolf laughed, then once he saw the vixen walking into the house with the small black vulpine he instantly gapped. "Arcene?"

"Oh, hi Wolf," she smiled.

"Arcene is _your_ girlfriend?" Wolf asked in disbelief.

"You know her?" Fox asked right back.

"Yeah actually. Sheila was good friends with her sister," Wolf answered, grinning slightly. "I only saw her a few times, but yeah, I remember little Arcy."

"Where have you been anyway?" Arcene asked abruptly.

"I was just about to ask him the same thing," Fox added. "Where _have_ you been? I haven't seen you since the end of the war. I missed you so much."

"Been busy being a husband," Wolf responded proudly, causing both Arcene and Fox to let out simultaneous "aww's" at the lupine's remark.

"You finally asked her, eh Wolf?" Fox taunted.

"I sure did," Wolf sneered back. Fox chuckled, and as he trotted over to help Jake into the house Arcene took the unoccupied seat next to the wolf and smiled again.

"Where's your wife then?" she asked. Wolf grinned slightly, then turned his head to face the opening where the kitchen was located.

"Yo Sheila!" he shouted. "You've got company!"

"She's here too?" Fox asked enthusiastically. "How's she been?"

"Why don't you ask her that yourself?" Wolf chuckled, then not soon after he heard the husky's footsteps progressively get louder. Her cinnamon brown and white furred face popped around the corner, and at the sight of Fox she screamed in delight.

"OH MY GOD FOX!" Sheila yipped, instantly bolting over and tightly embracing the vulpine's frame. What baffled Fox was that even though he was much taller than before, he still wasn't as tall as the over six-foot-tall light copper husky. Her extremely voluminous cinnamon colored hair that was synonymous with her name now exceeded four feet in length, and as always it was well kept and absolutely magnificent and luxurious looking. She hadn't really grown in height since he had last saw her, and in fact she hadn't changed very much, although she had gotten a bit curvier than before as well as developing a wider waistline, but she couldn't control or deny those physical changes because of her progressively maturing feminine frame.

"Good to see you again Sheila," Fox said happily, making the husky grin even larger. "Wolf treatin' you alright?"

"Would you expect anything different from him?" she questioned playfully, making Wolf groan softly at the cheesiness of her tone.

Fox smiled and bit his tongue. "You ever need someone to knock some sense into him, you know where to find me."

"Thanks Fox," Sheila laughed, wrapping her arm around his neck. "Sorry we've kinda left you alone with Vince for quite a while. We didn't really mean to be gone for this long."

"Where'd you guys go?" Fox asked, watching Sheila trot over and take the unoccupied seat next to the gray wolf.

"Taking life easy, away from trouble," Wolf replied, wrapping his arm around his mate. "Both Sheila and I were graciously offered positions as flight instructors for the Royal Verian Air Force at Indaras Academy, which in case you haven't forgotten is probably the largest and most prestigious academy on Veris Alpha."

"You'd think you just read it off a website," Sheila giggled, sticking her tongue out at the lupine. "But no, he's right. The fun part about it is that we each have a separate class, and they let us have regular competitions with our cadets to test their abilities."

"Woah, hold on a sec guys," Fox pleaded, rubbing at his forehead. "How in the gods' names did you two get instructing positions? You two have never taught a day in your life."

"You'd be surprised Fox," Sheila smiled. "The Verians were very impressed with how we each handled ourselves during the First Contact war, and when they realized we couldn't establish residence on Corneria for what we did, they helped us turn to our next best option, which was asylum on Veris Alpha."

"They took us in; no questions asked," Wolf added, crossing his legs. "In fact they were the ones to search for us in the first place. They realized I was a former Star Fox member, and Sheila was an ex-Husky Squadron pilot, then they looked up our info and statistics and deduced we were capable of joining the RVAF. Not only do we each have our own squadron to command, but we have the privilege of teaching them too."

"And how's the instructing aspect going?" Fox asked.

"Surprisingly better that I had originally thought," Wolf chuckled. "Turns out these cadets we're teaching are your age, Fox. They were a bit hesitant towards us at first, but over time they've really come to enjoy us. They understand what we went through to get there."

"I honestly love it," Sheila butted in. "It's nice knowing that I'm influencing these guys. My class honestly love me."

"They love your hair, She," Wolf corrected, pawing at her cinnamon colored hair explosion. "They've never seen hair that long or that… explosive."

"I know," Sheila muttered, tilting her head back and using her paws to straighten out her extremely lengthy locks, but that was about as successful as lighting a match underwater. "I really think I should get it trimmed up."

"Nooo," Wolf whined childishly. "Keep it. It's beautiful; just like you."

"Smooth," Vince suddenly piped in with a smirk as he walked out of the kitchen with a glass of water. He found a seat on the unoccupied couch on the other wall and set the glass on the nearby table in between the two couches after taking a quick sip.

"Anyway Wolf, why are you helping the Verians anyway?" he asked, folding his right leg under his left. "For me, the Verian Kingdom is really starting to worry me, and even our parliament is starting to take a nosedive."

"They're _still_ trying to negotiate with each other to end this hostility?" Wolf asked, allowing the husky to hop onto his lap and nuzzle closer to him. Vince shrugged his head as he located the remote to the TV on the coffee table.

"Only way to know for sure is to see if they're covering any of this in the media," he replied, waiting for the TV to warm up.

"Have you been prepping for any combat, Arcy?" Sheila asked, sliding off of Wolf's leg to his right onto an open cushion of the couch. The vixen instantly shook her head.

"No, we've just been doing routine training exercises," she answered. "Why do you ask?"

"I just figured with Corneria's increasing hostility I would've thought they would be training more soldiers in actual combat," the husky answered frankly, brushing at her excessively voluminous hair once more. "It still baffles me that the CDF is still so aggressive towards Veria. What did we do to piss them off so badly?"

"Something with the way we handled the humans, I think," Vince answered, then suddenly pointed at the screen. "There, shh."

The arctic fox turned up the volume slightly, then the entire room listened in as a rather slim and beautiful black collie spoke into the camera, with what looked to be the CDF HQ in the background.

"…gotiations and peace talks for the first time in over two months have finally turned out with a profit for one of the parties. In a very heated and tense session of negotiations between the delegates of just Corneria and Veris Alpha alone, the Verian Kingdom reluctantly accepted terms put forth by Secretary of Foreign Affairs Jonathan Andersen, Secretary of Defense Kyle Reeves, and Prime Minister Victor Muzzin himself. After over three hours of tense sacrifices by both parties, Veria finally accepted a deal in where the Cornerian blockade over Veris Alpha's West End District would be removed in exchange for the immediate retraction of Verian Protectors from Cerinia."

Almost as if on cue, everyone's muzzles unhinged in unison as the words took full hold of them. They didn't bother to cry out as the news collie was quickly back to speaking.

"This is a monumental event, and a huge step towards a possible resolve of this cold war between these two superpowers, mainly because the Verian Protection Program had been a staple in the Verian Guardian Corps for centuries. Back when Cerinia was a planet covered in wars and conflict, the Verian Kingdom enacted a protection program where any able-bodied Verian soldier of a certain age group would be sent to protect a particular Cerinian family. Ever since then, the planet has been very calm and stable under the Protection Program, but now that it has been lifted, there may be some unforeseen consequences, especially with the Cerinian population that has relied on this mode of protection and government for centuries."

"I can _not_ believe Veria agreed to those terms," Fox said with eyes still wide.

"Veria _really_ doesn't want to fight," Wolf added. "I always knew they were kinda passive and very defensive about their morals and stuff like that, but never in a million years would I believe they would retract the Protection Program. That's a main part of the VGC for god's sake."

"It just doesn't make sense," Vince muttered as he shot up off the couch and started pacing. "Why are they doing this? There really isn't any reason for them to be so passive, but yet so hostile towards us. What's going on?"

"I wish I knew, Vinny," Wolf muttered, again grabbing Sheila and embracing her thin frame warmly. "Sheila and I will keep training our squadrons, but I'll make it clear I don't want them to actually start attacking. I know they have the power and resources to do so, but I really wish something would happen to just end this conflict."

"We can only hope," Fox grumbled, then turned back to face the couple and gave them a wide grin.

"So, Wolf… We haven't seen each other in years… I feel we have some catching up to do."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Knight Captain Jona Falx strapped his small sub-machine gun to the back of his snugly fitting Verian uniform as he stepped out of the comfort of the Verian Protection Embassy and onto familiar Cerinian soil. As was his custom and duty every other week, he traveled the insane, but less than time-consuming distance from Veris Alpha to their heavily influenced state planet Cerinia to check on his designated family.

The Verian Kingdom and Cerinia's top tribal leaders established this custom back when the dragonoid people first discovered the telepathic race of various blue furred canids and felids hundreds of years ago. Since Cerinia was still a land sprawling with conflict and brutal tribal warfare years before the Verians made their appearance, the Verians decided to establish a set of unrestricting, but necessary rules to keep order among tribes. Hundreds of years later, even though conflict between tribes had all in all resolved itself, and the population as a whole took their first step into Cornerian modernization, the Verians kept their promise of protection. Every Cerinian family was to be assigned a Verian Protector, and the custom of doing so still kept strong even after tribal factions were essentially abandoned after the "Cornerianization" period. Politically speaking, Cerinia can hold her own as an independent nation, but the population has grown so fond of their Verian Protectors that they are reluctant to declare their independence, even though they've been asked by the Verian Kingdom numerous times if they would like the VGC to retract, with all responses coming back the same way as a big and outstanding negative.

Jona still kept his designated family safeguarded, even throughout the five years since his first visit to the family. Jona is a very well rounded and average sized Verian, standing at just over six feet tall and weighing in at two hundred and ten pounds without all of his heavy equipment. His thick hide glimmered in a dull silvery color, contrasting a large patch of long black hair on the top back portion of his head. His snout was rather flat and shorter than standard Verian's length, and his heavy but sleek silver tail that was about the size of both of his legs stacked on top of each other hovered about two inches off the ground as he strolled through the Cerinian neighborhood. His two piercing red eyes are rather intimidating at first glance, but in all honesty Jona is a very kindhearted and compassionate person. He loved service, and his years serving his kingdom in the Verian Guardian Corps granted him a rather important and wealthy upper-class Cerinian family to safeguard. He took his responsibility with honor and humility, and made sure he was there at least once a week to check on them.

He trotted down the cobblestone streets of the rather comfortable and cozy Cerinian village with confidence, mainly because he towered over the blue furred Cerinian population by several inches, if not more in some cases. He didn't have to worry about the Cerinians possibly getting into his mind either, because for an unexplained reason that has yet to be solved the Cerinian population cannot penetrate the seemingly unbreakable barrier that encompasses the Verians' minds. He always felt at ease walking down the streets because the Cerinians absolutely adored and idolized their Verian Protectors, but this trip in particular kept him a bit on edge because of Corneria's rather uncharacteristically hostile actions as of late. He kept his collapsible shield strapped to his arm at the ready just in case he found opposition, but considering that he had done his route for well over five years and not a single incident has occurred in that long interval of time, he wasn't worried that he would suddenly have to make use of it.

Jona inconspicuously slipped the lock off of a small gate in front of the largest house in the village – minus the Verian Embassy – and trotted up to the ornate wooden front door. He glanced around the very exquisite looking house, complete with a very olden style of brickwork, hand-crafted roofing and decorations, and even a small garden off to the left of the door. Smiling, he balled his gloved hand and knocked on the door as he had always done before, and a few moments later a cobalt blue vulpine opened the door with a wide smile.

"Ah, good to see you Cypher," the vulpine announced cheerfully, firmly grasping the Verian's hand. This particular Cerinian was rather different, as he had more tribal tattoos than normal civilians. Those tattoos consisted of very honorable chief leader insignias and tribal artwork, all branded on the vulpine's face in an inky black color, symbolizing his authority as the town's chief. If that wasn't enough, he wore a very beautiful and colorful tribal robe to express his authority. He had a full head of navy blue hair that flowed to his shoulders, and sticking straight up out of his rather messy hair were two black and floppy triangular ears.

Jona chuckled at the Cerinian's continued usage of his alias and let a grin crease his snout. "Good to see you're still alright, Mr. Gunther," he replied happily, curling his long reptilian tail behind his back. He saw the twinkle in the Cernian's deep turquoise eyes as he backed away from the door.

"Won't you come in?" the fox offered. Jona shrugged his head and ducked a fraction of an inch to get under the somewhat smaller doorframe, then found himself standing in the warm glow of a well-above-average house. Inside was beautifully furnished, almost as if it was an older Cornerian home, with well-kept hardwood flooring, a few small tables filled with antique and hand crafted Cerinian relics and religious objects, and a very cozy looking couch pressed up against the right side wall. It was honestly very beautiful seeing all of these different colors strewn about the interior of the house flow together in a way that didn't seem forced or sickening.

Right as Mr. Gunther shut the door, another Cerinian appeared in the kitchen doorway. She was about two inches smaller than the male in the house, but she still had the luxuriously flowing midnight blue hair the vulpine had, along with a very silky and soft looking tribal dress covering mostly everything under her shoulders. She had a short and slender muzzle like a feline, but large pointed ears that resembled those of a wolf. Her long and sharp teeth were also very wolf-like as she gave a warm smile to the dragon.

"Oh, Cypher," the blue wolf-feline hybrid exclaimed. "I wasn't expecting you to show up so suddenly."

"Heh, better to show up unannounced then not at all," the Verian chuckled.

"If I would've known you were coming over I would've made extra supper for you," she remarked somewhat disappointedly.

"That's okay Mrs. Gunther; I was just stopping by briefly anyway," Jona grinned, scratching at his heavily padded forearm, then after a few seconds of silence his smile slowly faded away. "I came by to give both of you some… rather unfortunate news."

"What's that?" the male fox asked concernedly. Jona folded his large pointy ears back behind his rather large head spikes and glanced at the floor.

"Well, because of this increasing conflict with Corneria, King Xiphos and the majority of the Verian Kingdom agreed on having us retract from this planet," he explained with a heavy heart. "This will be the last time I stop by until they give the approval for us to resume our Guardian duties, if that ever happens."

"Oh my," the female Cerinian hybrid gasped slightly. "You Verians have been protecting us for centuries; why is one little conflict with Corneria forcing you to stop?"

"I wish I could say it's just a minor conflict," Jona answered, picking at his vest. "The Cornerians have done too many terrible things, and they refuse to remove the officials that supported the impulsive war with humanity. They've disgraced their kind with their revenge mentality and actions, something I personally have _zero_ tolerance for, and for whatever reason they're taking out their already heightened aggression on our kind. We don't want another war, so we're trying to oblige with the Cornerians' demands in peace talks, and… unfortunately… one of the terms we had to agree with was the immediate extraction of Verian Protectors."

The Cerinian fox growled slightly and placed his paw on the taller dragon's shoulder. "I'm truly sorry Cypher. I know how important this job is to you."

"It's the one thing I love to do in uniform," Jona added sadly. "It is quite a shame that I have to leave you and your family behind."

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself," the fox chuckled in an attempt to lighten the mood. "We'll be right here waiting for you once you can come back to service, if that can happen. We'll miss you very much, but we'll be able to care for ourselves."

"That's good to hear," Jona said with a forced grin.

"Just… take care out there Cypher," Mr. Gunther grinned, sucking his lips into his muzzle.

"Jona," he blurted out as he grasped the vulpine's black tinged paw. "Cypher is my alias name to avoid the wrong people targeting my family. My real name is Jona Falx. I figured I would tell you that now since I don't know if I'll ever see you guys again."

The cobalt fox grinned, then almost as if a switch was activated inside his head, his eyes shot open wider than saucers. "Wait… I-I know that name."

"That's why I kept the alias," Jona remarked sheepishly under his breath.

"Falx… that's…" he started quietly, then his muzzle suddenly opened wide. "You… You're related to the king?"

"He's my grandfather," Jona admitted, glancing at the windows nervously. "There's a lot of complicated genealogy behind all this, but yes, you are correct."

"Oh my gods and goddesses," Mr. Gunther exclaimed quietly, making sure not to cause an uproar. "For five years our Guardian has been related to the King and we never once noticed it. I… I can't believe it. Jona, you… you have no idea how honored my family and I are that we were lucky enough to be assigned you as our Guardian."

The Verian chuckled nervously again and scratched behind his neck. "Well, for all I know that may not be the case anymore. I'm glad I got to spend this time with you and your family, but… I don't know if we can come back or not."

"We'll be right here waiting for you," he assured, clamping both paws around his hand. "We'll be safe. I promise."

"Okay," the Verian grinned, then after retracting his hand he clamped it around the door handle. Right as he was about to open the door, he sighed and turned back to Mrs. Gunther. "Um… Could I possibly say my goodbyes to Krystal before I go?"

"Of course, sweetie," Mrs. Gunther answered, pointing a clawed digit down towards the hallway of the house. "She's in her room."

"Thank you," he said warmly, then slowly walked through the living room and into the narrow hallway. He stopped at the last threshold on the left side of the hall, then pensively knocked on the wooden door.

"Yeah?" a muffled feminine voice answered the knock in a somewhat impatient tone.

"Krys? It's Jona," he replied shakily, then not soon afterward he heard her feet pound down on the floor and quickly pad over to his location. The door was forcefully jerked open, revealing a very beautiful seventeen-year-old turquoise-eyed Cerinian vixen with a warm smile plastered on her short and slender white muzzle. Her shimmering cobalt coat of fur was puffed out and very soft looking – implying she had just bathed – and she was clothed in a very relaxed and somewhat revealing set of tribal apparel. Her curvy frame was blatantly visible through the lack of restricting clothing she had, and her cuffed bushy tail seemed to sway along with her faintly swishing hips as she smiled happily at the dragon.

"Jona!" she squealed, wrapping her thin cobalt arms around the Verian's waist.

"Hey Krystal," he announced unenthusiastically, returning the friendly gesture weakly. Krystal lifted her head up and stared into the dragon's red eyes concernedly.

"What's wrong?" she asked sweetly, catching the lack of energy or desire the dragon had at the current moment. Jona let out a long burst of air through his nose as he glanced back over at her.

"There's something I need to tell you," he replied hollowly, almost as if he was being poisoned as he said it. Krystal's expression turned from concern to worry as she gently pulled his arm into her bedroom. Jona obliged, then after he had shut the female's door he saw her hop onto her bed and cross her legs.

"What's up?" she asked, patting her bedside with her free paw. Jona plopped himself onto her bedside and subtly curled his long silvery tail around her thin waist.

"Krys," he started, closing his eyes as he exhaled once more. "I… It pains me to say this, but I'm not going to be able to be your protector anymore."

"Huh? How… how come?"

Jona cringed slightly as he could practically feel the young Cerinian adult's heart snap in half. "There's no easy way to explain this, but… we're basically retracting our troops because we want to keep the peace between the Verian Kingdom and the Cornerian Parliament. We want to avoid increasing our conflict with them, and the only term we could accept was that we needed to remove our authority on Cerinia."

Jona himself felt his own heart break once he saw tears start to well up in the vixen's eyes. She sniffed to clear up a bit of emotions, then suddenly lurched forward and wrapped her arms around the dragon.

"Please tell them you want to stay," Krystal pleaded pitifully, burying her muzzle into his uniform.

"I have no say in this," Jona admitted sadly. "We're just as reluctant to accept this fact as you are. Believe me, if I could stay here and keep my Guardian duty, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I can't, because we need to keep the peace with Corneria."

"Forget the Cornerians," she snapped sorrowfully, clutching at the Verian's sleeves tightly. "I don't want you to leave. Please stay!"

"I'm sorry Krys, but this is what we have to do," Jona explained, choking back his own tears.

"I'm gonna miss you so much," she squeaked, tears streaming down her cobalt furred cheeks. Jona wrapped his free hand around the vixen's head and nuzzled her closer into his shoulder.

"I will too," he said, then gently lifted her tear stained head off of his shoulder and stared at her confidently. "Promise me you'll take care of yourself without me?"

"I don't know if I can," she deadpanned, lowering her muzzle. Jona used his index finger to lift it back up to face himself, then used his thumb to dry away some of the vixen's tears.

"You can," he assured with a grin. "You're a very talented and strong huntress. I firmly believe you can hold your own with what your parents, and moreover, what I've taught you."

"But I'm just a beginner," she argued. "I don't have what it takes."

"Krystal, you are a talented, courageous, strong, and beautiful young woman," Jona said almost as if he had been rehearsing it. "If anyone on this entire planet can survive without a Verian Protector, it's you. I believe in you."

Krystal curled her lips into her muzzle as she let her ears lie flat. Jona silently patted at his pocket, then pulled out a small black object with a subtle sterling silver color on the inside.

"Here… I want you to have this," Jona stated as he handed the object towards the vixen. She hesitantly picked it out of his hand, prompting the dragon to continue. "It's a Verian stealth combat blade," he explained, flipping out the four-inch sharp stainless steel blade with his index finger. "I don't use it very much anymore. It's the least I can give you to remember me by, until our leaders give us the okay to return to active duty, whenever, or _if_ ever that can happen."

"Jona, I… I can't accept this," she admitted frankly, staring at the expertly crafted weapon with visible awe.

"Please, I want you to keep it," he assured, gently closing her clawed fingers on the blade's hilt. "Honestly, it will come in handy in more situations that you'll ever care to admit. Believe me."

Krystal continued to stare at the blade intently for a few seconds, then gently slid the blade back into its original sheathed state and set it on her nightstand. "Thank you," she sighed thoughtfully, again embracing the much larger Verian wholeheartedly. "Thank you for everything Jona. I'll miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too Krystal," he repeated, running his fingers through Krystal's relatively short midnight blue hair. "As soon as this conflict is over, I'll come back. I promise."

Krystal retracted her head and smiled at Jona. "This is for good luck," she blurted out, then planted a soft and tender kiss on the side of the Verian's snout. Jona's eyes shot open in shock, but they slowly closed as the sweet sensations stemming from the site of the kiss pulsated all over his body. He had never felt this sort of pleasurable feeling in his life, even when he had been with other women. This kiss was oddly soothing, but stimulating to him at the same time, and he honestly didn't know how to react to these foreign feelings. Running on pure instincts, he gave one last hug and goodbye to the vixen, then slowly inched out of her bedroom and shut the door behind his tail. As he was walking towards the door to leave, he reached out and placed his hand on the male vulpine's shoulder.

"Um, may I speak to you for a second, Mr. Gunther?"

"Of course, and please, call me Yuri," the fox said with a smile. Jona nodded, then persuaded the Cerinian vulpine to follow him out onto the front porch of the house. As soon as Yuri shut the front door, Jona exhaled and stared at the cobblestone pathway.

"You have one last thing to say to me, Jona?" he asked expectantly. Jona glanced up, still avoiding eye contact, and subtly tucked his long tail between his legs.

"I… I don't know how you're going to take this, but…" he suddenly transferred his gaze to the turquoise eyes of the vulpine and bit his lower lip. "I… I think I might be in love with your daughter."

Yuri's jaw instantly dropped. "Oh? J-Jona, is… this true?"

Jona lowered his ears and nodded. Mr. Gunther stammered a bit as he shuffled his feet.

"Wow, I… I-I always thought you l-liked her as a sister, but… t-this is just so unexpected."

"Don't get me wrong, Krystal _is_ like a sister to me," Jona explained. "It's… After I said goodbye to her, she gave me a good luck kiss, as Cerinian custom."

"Indeed," the vulpine affirmed. "That is custom, but please, continue."

"Well, after that kiss, I… I felt something go off inside me," he said, then slightly clutched at his chest. "It's uh… It's really complicated. Basically… A Verian male experiences these kinds of emotions and sensations when they've… found a perfect mate, to put it simply."

Yuri's jaw unhinged once again, but this time the ends of his muzzle curled upwards slightly as well. "Jona, this… t-this is fantastic! I'm honored that my little girl means this much to you."

"No, you don't understand," Jona interjected, shuffling his feet as his tail started flicking slightly. "I… I can't love her like that. Krystal, she's… way too young for me."

"Don't be ridiculous," the vulpine chuckled happily. "You don't look a day over eighteen."

"Well, I… I am, actually," Jona said, scratching at the fur on the back of his head. "Verians physically age much slower than everyone else… To be honest, Mr. Gunther, I'm thirty years old. Krystal is way too young for me to be in love with her."

"Oh my gods and goddesses," he muttered under his breath, visibly conflicted. "Jona, I-I-I don't know what to say. I don't want to deny or try and disprove your kind's mentality, but… t-there has to be some kind of mistake here."

"That's what I'm trying to talk to you about," Jona added calmly. "Don't get me wrong, I love Krystal to death, but… not in _this_ way. I love her like a sister, not like a spouse."

"I understand," Yuri said consolingly, placing his paw on the Verian's much taller shoulder. "This is the first time I've ever heard of these feeling for your kind. I've seen Cerinians and Verians get married and have families together before, but never have I heard that it was an emotional connection to their future spouse that brought them together."

"I've always been taught it's a once in a lifetime feeling," Jona remarked. "But… I can't follow through with this. I can't marry her. I can't mate with her. I know that if a loving bond between a Verian and a Cerinian is strong enough they will be able to conceive children, but I-I can't force this life on her."

"Shh, I understand," the vulpine interjected in an attempt to calm him down. "I know how you're feeling, and believe me, I'll try my best and resolve this."

"Thank you," Jona exhaled softly.

"It really would help if I could get inside your head," Yuri remarked, then suddenly his eyes shot wide open in realization. You could practically see the lightbulb shoot out of the top of his head in between his two black ears.

"Jona… I… I know what you're feeling."

"What?" the Verian asked confusedly, but expectantly. The vulpine glanced at the door slightly, then lowered his voice.

"I don't know how, and don't ask me how, but… I think Krystal wandered into your mind without her even knowing it."

Jona was absolutely dumbfounded and mystified. "That's… impossible. Verian minds are safeguarded against Cerinian telepathy."

Yuri smiled and shook his head slightly. "Apparently it's not in your case… well at least with Krys. I firmly believe Krystal was able to implement her internal behavior when she kissed you earlier into your mind, without her even knowing she did. I think she triggered your emotions. It's very, _very_ rare in these cases, but not impossible."

Jona blinked a few times. "Then… that was… her?"

Yuri nodded with another smile. "I don't think you are in love with Krystal, but… rather, Krystal is in love with you."

Jona let out an agonized low growl and clutched at his forehead. "I think you just made it worse," he muttered, tightly shutting his eyes.

"At least you don't have to worry about having that deep emotional feeling directed towards her anymore," the Cerinian remarked, but Jona instantly shook his head.

"No, _this_ is _worse_ ," he practically shouted, but kept his voice low at the same time. "I… I can't tell her she _can't_ love me. I'd break her heart if I told her she couldn't love me."

"Does she know your true age?"

"No, and _please_ don't tell her," he pleaded, clutching at the fox's upper sleeve gently. "I have to be the one to break the news to her. In fact, I-I-I'll do it right now."

Right as he was going to reenter the house to explain his situation to the vixen, his wrist transmitter buzzed. He looked at the illuminated screen, then cursed in Verian under his breath as he let his shoulders go limp.

"Our last transport back to Veris Alpha is leaving soon."

"Go," Yuri commanded calmly. "I'll… try and talk to my daughter about this."

Jona let another breath of air out of his nose as he lowered his snout and his ears at the same time. "Please be gentle with her… I don't want to have her heart break while I'm not there to comfort her."

"She'll be fine," he assured. "I'll take good care of her. Just worry about yourself out there Jona. I'll be praying for you. Please stay safe."

"I will," Jona replied, then haphazardly bowed his head in respect. "Thank you for everything sir," he added just as he jerked around to swiftly sprint away towards the Verian airfield. Yuri watched his long sliver tail disappear back into the Verian Embassy building, then let another breath out of his nose.

 _Bless you Jona_ , he prayed to himself, slowly closing his eyes and lowering his head. _I wish you all the best._

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

United States. March 11th, 2041.

What a time to be alive.

What seemed to be an impossible feat of cleaning up the absolutely devastated nation actually turned out to be much easier and cleaner than previously anticipated. It took a few long months of blood, sweat, and hard work to clean up the rubble of their fallen cities – ranging from the once heavily populated New York, the previously bustling Chicago, and even the nation's capital that had been reduced to dust. Once cleanup was over, it was even harder work to put everything back to the way it was before the assault. Only this time it was better. Stronger.

When everyone worked together under a newly instated massive public works project, it took them less time to renovate one city than it would to complete one building under a normal construction company. Whoever was left suddenly became a construction worker, and rebuilding the nation became one colossal project, organized by the newest leaders in a new chapter of American history.

Amazingly, in five years after the last Cornerian ship left, it seemed there was no trace of the assault. New York was reconstructed in a staggering three years, and other cities weren't too far behind that interval. Both Vancouver and Boston finished reparations on the same exact day, after two and a half years of hard work and dedication. The entire North American continent was booming – firing on all cylinders – and it seemed as though redevelopment was second nature to Americans, especially after wartime activities.

Now in the present day, production was still soaring. It was the biggest economic boom since World War II almost one hundred years ago. Resources were being produced faster, more efficiently, and more economically than ever before. Food, gasoline, and manufactured goods' prices were the lowest they've ever been in over sixty years. Technology seemed to take one giant leap into the future, and in no time flat devices that would be previously considered "science-fiction" were finally reality. It was a modern day economic explosion.

Although the death toll established because of the attack was ungodly high, a greater good of having an entire nation as a whole take one massive lunge into the future of technology and development seemingly masked any sense of terrible mass-genocide that happened six years prior.

In the recently reconstructed White House in Washington D.C, the president was sitting in _her_ chair, gazing at the stack of _her_ papers on _her_ desk with a sly smirk.

Forty-nine year old Valerie McClellan, only halfway through her second term, was already being praised as the greatest president to ever take office, topping actions of many revered and prestigious men that have held the position before her. Her cliché slogans won the hearts of most of the American population, but unlike others, she held true to her promises. She was the reason that the United States had overcome its seemingly overwhelming obstacle of rebuilding, and have now since soared past it with the development of brand new technology. She put together the nationwide reconstruction companies, which were responsible for rebuilding the once obliterated cities into foundations for a new tomorrow. That tomorrow was closely approaching if it wasn't here already, and President Douglass was prepared for anything thrown her way.

At forty-nine years of age, Valerie looked surprisingly young, already on top of her status as the second youngest person to ever take office. She couldn't have looked older than thirty-five, and her curly blonde hair and pale, unwrinkled face only added to that presumption. You would think with six years in office in such a stressful time period of history, she would show just a slight trace of aging. That was not the case in her life, and in fact, she flaunted her seemingly ageless look by wearing the latest fashions; something ordinary congresswomen wouldn't be caught dead wearing. Her perfectly sculpted hourglass frame made her look like a model rather than the most powerful woman in the world. Although she had perfect vision, she still had a pair of thick framed glasses perched on her small, pale nose. She walked with confidence, and spoke with it too. It was almost as if she was born for this kind of job.

The door to her office unlatched, and as the door creaked open she glanced up and saw her husband, General Todd McClellan, leaning in the doorway with a smile.

Todd, at the president's request, was promoted to General, and it was no mistake that he should be in that position. He was a highly talented and battle hardened officer, and the only reason he didn't fight against the Cornerians was because he was too busy overseas. By the time he arrived back on American soil, the Cornerians were already long gone however. He was a man that spoke with power, and showed it too with his closely trimmed coconut shell brown crew cut and clean shaven face. He removed his dark sunglasses and stared at the president with his rather dark brown eyes.

"Val, you're gonna want to see this," Todd started, holding up a small flash drive that he revealed from his military uniform cargo pants.

"Is this about your crazy plan that would never work again?" Valerie taunted sarcastically.

"Would never?" he echoed, taking a few steps into the office. "How about, _it_ _will_?"

President McClellan widened her eyes. "Did that project seriously work?"

Todd chuckled and plugged the drive into a small device arranged on the female president's desk, causing a pale blue 3D holographic image to spurt from the top. Pictured was what looked to be one of the Cornerian Destroyers; modified to look smaller, but strangely and strikingly more dangerous.

"Last week, our engineers finished her," Todd started, then chuckled softly as he used his finger to tilt the image. "Turns out these Cornerians' equipment is extremely easy to reproduce when we have the given information. That's how this technological boom happened; people from all these different companies started reverse-engineering their tech, and made countless other devices from that same stuff."

"So," she poked at the hologram. "That's–"

"Cornerian technology," he finished for her. "All of it. Little bit of American ingenuity, but that's obligatory in any large-scale construction project such as this absolute _beauty_ of a warship."

"And this ship can do everything the other ones did?"

"Everything," Todd affirmed with a smile. "This first ship already had a test run. Broke atmosphere effortlessly, traveled over a hundred thousand kilometers outside Earth's gravitational pull and back, and finally broke back into the atmosphere and landed with no malfunctions at all. Small crew inside was picture perfect too. Everything is automated with her advanced circuitry and programming too, so we don't have to worry about a pilot either."

"That's incredible," Valerie remarked, using her index finger to spin the hologram around to get an entire three hundred and sixty degree view of the ship. "What are your plans for her?"

"That's what I came to you about," the general answered, placing both of his large hands on the desk. He let a breath of air out though his nose and glanced out of the window as he continued in a low voice. "I know of a lot of people who want to get revenge on Corneria for what they did to us, myself included."

"I know hon," Valerie responded softly. "You want to get them back as much as the next guy, but now isn't the time to do it."

"It's as good a time as ever," Todd corrected. "They're rebuilding just as we are, and with the information we extracted from one of their main ships we know they're in rough shape."

"Rough shape?" she echoed curiously. "How do you know?"

"Our failed satellite apparently hit their capital city and killed almost three quarters of a billion people. In comparison, roughly ten percent of Earth's population died in that explosion for them. I know I'd be correct in assuming they're struggling to rebuild with the loss of population."

"You want to take advantage of them while they're struggling?"

"It's our best option," he replied frankly. "Why wait until they get their legs back underneath them to counter-attack? They're crippled as it is, so why not hit 'em hard while they're suffering, so we can finish the job we started?"

Valerie shrugged her head and smirked. "You're one smart general. So, you're taking this newly completed space battleship over there and what? You can't expect to get a warm welcome once you arrive there."

"I know, and I've already researched that," Todd responded, then switched the hologram projection to a different image. Instead of their newly completed cruiser, the machine displayed numerous different planets centralized around a large star much like their own, but the fact that they were closer together piqued the female's interest.

Todd poked to a white and very light blue tinged planet a fairly long distance away from the main star. "This planet here is known to the locals as Fichina. It's a very secluded and frigid planet, and is a little smaller than the size of Mars, but it's surprisingly capable of supporting life. As far as we know, the only things on this planet is a small military outpost, a building that has the technology to alter the climate, and a small amount of local population. _Very_ small amount of inhabitants, as in less than three, four thousand people. This planet would be perfect in establishing a base of operations for us."

The president looked at the hologram with a confused expression. General McClellan noticed her confusion and quickly elaborated.

"Don't worry; we've got ways of making it there undetected if you do allow us to do so. These warships are equipped with a cloaking device, as well as the potential to block out their radar and satellite systems, so they'll never see us coming. We take a small reconnaissance group first to scope out the area and silence any of the locals that attempt to put up a fight, then once the coast is clear we take our bigger warships that are still in progress and essentially colonize that planet. We get a nice little base set up, and while the Cornerians still have no idea we are there, we launch a surprise attack against them like they did to us six years ago. They'll never expect it, and we can just wipe the floor with them because they won't be able to react fast enough."

Valerie giggled and zoomed in on the planet. "It's like you planned this for years."

"As soon as I found out we could recreate space travel like they did, that's all I did was plan this counter-strike out."

Valerie nodded – visibly impressed with her husband's presentation – then folded her hands on the desk. "Alright. I'll give the ok, on one condition."

"What's that?"

"You are not going on that first recon mission," she stated firmly.

"I know," Todd replied confidently, then showcased a sly grin. "Joel is."

"Absolutely not!" she argued instantly with eyes wide. "You are not sending _our_ son on that first mission when we have no idea how it's going to go."

"Val, our son is a soldier, and a damn good one at that," he explained. "If anyone is capable of surviving on a planet like that, and actually making the mission a success, it's him."

"That's just asking for him to get killed!"

"Honey, I just told you that nothing bad will ever happen," Todd assured calmly. "There is no chance that something will go wrong. I've planned this mission for years, expertly and thoroughly examining every single detail four, even five times over, and there is absolutely no chance of anything going wrong. Trust me."

Valerie exhaled through her mouth and looked at him seriously. "I'll kick your ass if something happens to him."

"I promise, he'll be fine," he chuckled. "Joel's a natural leader. Put him with about nineteen other well trained soldiers, and there won't be a scratch on him. Once he and his crew signal the all clear, I'll be the first one on a transport ship to that planet if that makes you feel any better about his safety."

"You better make sure he's armed to the teeth," Valerie warned.

"He will," Todd affirmed. "I'll make sure all twenty soldiers are armed for a fight. We know how those Cornerians handled themselves in combat, so if we equip our men to counter that, we'll have no trouble."

President McClellan nodded. "Alright. I'll give the clearing on this. Just… go talk to Joel and tell him what he needs to do. Please? Make sure he's okay with it?"

"Will do," Todd replied. "Thank you."

"No, thank _you_ ," she corrected. "It's about time we paid them back for the hell they put us through."

"And the fact they had the audacity to leave without saying anything," Todd added. "We didn't start their aggressive behavior, but we sure as hell will put an end to it. They may not have had a clear motive for attacking, but we sure as hell have our reason. We're sending a message saying we aren't a civilization to just hit and run away from. They won't be able to hide from us."

"Easy, bug guy," Valerie chuckled. "Save the bitterness and anger for the real battle."

Todd nodded and smiled, then turned around and attempted to walk out of the office.

"Oh, hon?"

Todd instantly spun around and faced her. "What's up?"

Valerie glanced out the window momentarily, then started at him and gave him a sly smirk.

"Tell Joel to bring back a tail for me."

* * *

 _I can't hardly breathe at the thought of you  
Just your presence gets me so confused  
It must be that you are more than you think to me  
Yet I have to act like I'm okay; I'm not okay  
It goes much deeper than your day-to-day crush from back in your school days  
It goes much deeper than those songs that I hear with a sentiment  
It's more than that cause you're in my system  
There's nothing I can do; There's nothing I can say_

You're in my system, baby  
Deep in my system  
You've got me going crazy  
Inside my system  
You're in my system, baby  
Deep in my system  
You've got my soul and body  
You're in my system

 _*Nu:Tone – System*_


	3. Love and War

**A/N: Get your wicker baskets out, 'cause there's Easter eggs everywhere. From FC to any Star Fox related game, you guys try and find 'em all.**

 **Also, get your notepads out, because there is quite a bit of information in this chapter as well. Don't say I didn't warn ya.**

 **Lastly, you guys should check out a First Contact spin-off that was posted on the archive a while ago, if you haven't already. It's called First Contact: Nocturne, and even though it's short as of right now, it's still really good. I highly recommend everyone take a look at that, and give him some feedback too. Thanks in advance.**

 **Keeping with my promise of shortening these, I'll leave you guys here. I'm really glad this has gotten so much feedback as of early on, but please, I'd love to see this upward trend continue. Hope you guys enjoy this update! Take care!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Love and War**

* * *

Fox felt a single bead of lukewarm sweat traverse from the base of his cream mohawk all the way down the right side of his face, tracing a line reminiscent of a river's path on his auburn furred cheek. Wiping the bead of sweat away before it got to his jawbone, he sighed almost inaudibly and continued to work on his transmitter underneath a rather large magnifying mirror, one that made his fingers look five times larger than natural. He carefully used a pair of tweezers to wire up a deep blue chip to the rest of the device, but this time he crossed the wires to different inputs instead of plugging them into their respective outlets like he had done the day prior. He closed up the covering on it and glanced over at Vince, who was busy typing a long string of coding into his screen.

"Vince, I… I think I got it," Fox panted, again wiping sweat from his brow.

"Can it wait a sec, Fox?" Vince grunted, gnawing on his left paw. He would always be like this whenever he'd be in the middle of a mentally strenuous project. He would chew on just about anything, ranging from a pen to his clothes to even his own arm at times. There was one time a while back when he was in the middle of a coding project, and he bit down on his paw so hard that he actually broke skin and covered his entire paw in blood without him even realizing it. He had gotten better about inadvertently hurting himself, but he still couldn't break that nasty habit of chewing on everything like it was a teething ring.

Fox grunted back in acknowledgement, but didn't feel like waiting to test and see if his invention worked. He stepped away from his rather small lab station, stood in the middle of the vibrantly white hallway with numerous office spaces and lab benches surrounding him on all sides except for his ventral side, then opened his transmitter HUD. He poked at the option that was located on his main screen just under his contacts, the one he attempted to press the day before, and was startled to find out that it finally worked this time.

As soon as the tip of his digit pressed the option, a short, high frequency burst of a sound comparable to scraping metal screeched from the device, and his entire frame along with about a half a foot of extra space all around him was enveloped in a pale blue hexagonal field of what looked like pure energy. The sudden energy field that had sprung from Fox's transmitter caused nearby papers to get tossed around and dust lining the floor to get picked up and cloud around his feet. A combination of the noise of paper rustling and the high-pitched screaming emanating from his transmitter caused the arctic fox to turn his head, then instantly gape at the forcefield.

"Fox!" Vince yipped, shooting up from his chair. He attempted to rush over to the orange vulpine, but the pure energy stemming from the pale blue field stopped him in his tracks as he felt the furs on his face and arms rustle. He didn't want to potentially try and touch the field for fear he would get shocked or singed by the pulsating polygons.

Fox removed his finger, then almost instantly afterwards the energy field retracted back into his transmitter so fast it was unnoticeable to the naked eye. As soon as it disappeared, Fox busted into a successful laughter so contagious that Vince himself couldn't keep a straight face.

"It worked!" Fox laughed mirthfully, somewhat doubling over. "Oh my gods I can't believe it worked!"

"What _was_ that?" Vince asked after his own laughter had subsided.

"Energy field," Fox answered, smirking at the option on his transmitter. "If my calculations are correct, it should be able to produce enough concentrated energy to deflect small projectiles thrown or shot at it within a certain velocity or mass."

"Shut up," Vince scoffed disbelievingly. "Don't play games with me kit."

"I'm not joking," Fox whined sarcastically, then trotted over to his station and picked up a red rubber ball that fit perfectly in his paw. He shook it at Vince, then bounced it on the ground a few times before gently tossing it to the white vulpine, who caught it effortlessly after it popped off of the ground.

Fox pulled the option on his transmitter up again as he looked directly at the fox, who was squeezing the red ball in his own paw. "Throw it at me."

"You're serious about this?" Vince asked skeptically, giving the ball another hard squeeze.

Fox poked at his transmitter option, causing the pale blue energy field to reappear and screech quietly as the hexagonal polygons pulsated with energy. "Throw it hard," Fox shouted over the noise of the squealing forcefield and the sounds of rustling paperwork. Vince shrugged his shoulders, sized up the vulpine with his eventual throw after backing up a good ten feet, and then pulled back his arm and his leg as he hurled the rubber ball at Fox with the force, speed, and form of a baseball pitch.

The ball impacted the field, causing the hexagon around the impact sight to turn white and cause a ripple effect within the large polygon like waves in a lake after skipping rocks. After a loud and resounding ping at the recognition something had impacted the field, it forcefully rejected the ball, causing it to go flying straight back at the arctic fox's face at a speed that was somehow quicker than what was initially launched at him. Vince barely ducked in time as the ball went careening over his floppy snow white ears, not stopping until it impacted a shelving unit of various metallic objects up against the far wall. The ball hit the shelf with so much force that it tossed many of the objects lying comfortably on the shelf onto the concrete floor, causing a loud chorus of clanking metal sounds to echo throughout the lab space.

Vince turned his head to follow the streaking red ball, then cranked it back to the vulpine who had just retracted the energy field after the metallic sounds had died down and laughed out loud. "Son of a bitch!" he exclaimed, popping up from his knees. "That was amazing!"

"Now you see why I was working so hard on this all this week and last week," Fox remarked, removing the flap from the chip so that Vince could look at it. "It harnesses most of the unused energy these transmitters waste and produces a _very_ temporary energy shield. It only works in short bursts so that the transmitters have time to recharge after using it. Maybe bump up some of its specs and give it a larger power source, and we might be able to have this produced for CDF ground forces to protect them against laser fire."

"This can deflect laser fire?" Vince asked with eyes wide.

"Only way to find out is to test it," Fox replied, pulling up the HUD display.

"I barely ducked under the ball I threw at you," Vince chuckled. "I'm not gonna try and shoot you, then have it work and me ending up getting hit."

"True," Fox nodded, closing the flap up.

"So, what made you think of that?" Vince asked after slipping back into his station.

Fox also returned to his seat and started messing with some coding in regards to his new invention on his own screen. "To be honest, I just used the Verians' idea of a condensed energy shield and reproduced it with our tech. It was difficult because of how much more advanced they are compared to us, but not impossible for someone like me to recreate."

"You stole the Verians' idea?"

"Borrowed," Fox corrected with a chuckle. "It's not their tech or their energy I used. I used _our_ stuff to recreate it. They want to get pissy with us for supposedly stealing an idea, then so be it."

"They're already pissy," Vince added with a smirk. "Did you know I finally found out why they're so upset with us?"

"How so?"

"Supposedly they want some of our parliament officials removed," Vince answered unenthusiastically, continuously scanning the coding covering his holographic screen. "Ya know? The ones that approved of the First Contact war? They don't want them in power anymore, and they also want them to apologize for what they did, but they keep saying they have nothing to apologize for."

"Jeez," Fox moaned. "You'd think we'd try and mature a bit after that embarrassment that was the FC war."

"One would hope," Vince grumbled. "Believe it or not, but there are some government officials and some military officers that are still bitter against humanity."

"Still?" Fox echoed confusedly.

"They were extremely reluctant to even leave Earth in the first place," Vince added. "Those are the guys the Verian Kingdom want us to remove."

"Then why don't we?" Fox asked.

"Would you want to get rid of Secretary Andersen?" Vince asked right back, cocking his head at him. "Secretary Tavares? Hell, even Prime Minister Muzzin? I sure as hell wouldn't feel comfortable if they were removed, even if they are still somewhat hostile."

"And what if they start another war with the Verians?"

"They won't," Vince assured, finishing up his long string of coding. "I know the Verians are so more advanced than we are to the point where it's worrisome, and if they so much as _breathe_ on us in our current state we'll go up in flames, but they have honor, and for them it's not honorable to sweep an entire race under the rug. They will do whatever it takes to try and resolve this conflict without spilling blood."

"So _that's_ why they retracted the Verian Protection Program," Fox remarked, snapping his fingers.

"Exactly," Vince affirmed. "Hell, they could have wiped our blockade off the face of Lylat, yet they refrained to because they didn't want to start a war. They're doing everything in their power to prevent war, and the VCG's authority on Cerinia was another thing they had to sacrifice to keep peace. If anything, _we_ will be the first ones to attack if the peace between our worlds degrades enough to merit open warfare."

"And let's pray that doesn't happen, for the CDF's sake," Fox grunted, sliding away from his station on his wheeled chair, then did a complete 360 degree swivel before he started speaking again. "I _really_ hope war doesn't break out."

"That makes two of us," Vince said pragmatically.

"While we're on the topic of the Verians, what's your take on Wolf and Sheila's new jobs?"

"Their instructing positions over there?" Vince chortled, slouching as he spun to face the orange fox. "It's understandable because Veris Alpha would be the only place they would be welcome. Plus, they're two damn good pilots, so in all honesty I think the Verians came up as the victors in recruiting them."

"I didn't really ask them how well they got along with the people there… before they left last night," Fox remarked with subtle regret. "They _are_ still Cornerians. Wonder if they're picked on kinda like how the human population is here."

"What, the fifty or so humans that we essentially _abducted_ six years ago during the FC war?" Vince chuckled again, running a paw through his hair. "They're really nice guys. Especially that one little girl. You've met Emily, right Foxie?"

"Yeah, the twelve-year-old human girl that's living with the ex-Husky Squadron pilot Christina," Fox grinned. "She's adorable. Absolutely loves the people here. Speaking of loving the people, did you hear that some of the humans are marrying Cornerians?"

"You're joking, right?" Vince asked right back.

"No, actually," Fox answered, letting a grin crease his muzzle. "I think there's been six or seven instances of humans marrying Cornerians. Nobody knows for sure if they can actually start a family together though, but they are researching that right now as a matter of fact."

"Wonder what a human and Cornerian child would look like if they actually _could_ …" Vince muttered under his breath.

"Anyway," Fox butted in, letting a burst of air out of his nose as he started spinning in his chair again. "Good thing the humans are really liking it here. Who knows what would happen if they didn't want to be here, and wanted to go back to Earth…"

"Even if they wanted too, Muzzin wouldn't approve of it," Vince replied sourly. "Parliament picks on the humans whenever they get the chance. In all honesty, the humans here aren't too lucky because the Loyalist sub-group in parliament is a very large majority. Hell, even Prime Minister Muzzin is a Loyalist, even though he doesn't openly admit it."

"Second in command is too," Fox added somewhat bitterly. "The only one that _isn't_ a Loyalist that has a big say in parliament is Reeves, but when there's ten other guys opposing your viewpoint it's hard to hold your own in that kind of environment. I truly feel sorry for him."

Vince sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "I fuckin' hate the Loyalists, 'scuse the language Foxie," he remarked, showcasing a slight grin at the end of the sentence, then let it fade almost instantly. "They're gonna get us in another war, I just know it."

"With the Verians?"

"Who else?" Vince scoffed. "They're gonna keep instigating them, and pretty soon the Verians are gonna say enough is enough and go for the jugular. They won't go after civilians, 'cause of their respect for life and all, but they'll have no trouble in going after a very powerful political figure if it means that others will survive and the hostility will end. You've gotta remember that the Lylat Homeland Coalition is a massive network of political leaders throughout the system from Corneria to her colonies, so they've got a lot of options to choose from if they're looking for an appropriate target to slap some sense back into us."

"What…? You… you don't think they'll try and assassinate someone, do you?" Fox asked with his voice somewhat hushed, glancing at the front door for good measure.

"I'd hate to say it, but I wouldn't bet against them doing so," Vince admitted, crossing his legs in his wheeled chair. "That will either bring us to our senses, or be the catalyst… and with the way parliament, and for that matter the entire LHC has been acting I'd put credits on the latter."

"Too bad you don't have any," Fox sneered with a playful smirk, getting the white vulpine to finally smile truthfully.

"Well, you keep blowin' all our money on Arcene," he taunted, making the other tod blush slightly and inadvertently catch him slightly off-guard with the sudden conversation change. "You care about her a lot, don't ya Fox?"

Fox nodded and frowned slightly, lowering his ears in the process. "She means the world to me," he explained, avoiding eye contact with the older fox. "I mean… I… I've never cared about a girl this much before."

"So I've seen," Vince grinned. "Every spare moment you get you're either calling her or going to her place. It's been like that for, what? Two years?"

"Almost three," Fox added quietly.

"You slept with her yet?" Vince suddenly asked, making Fox's muzzle shoot up from the floor.

"Vince!" Fox yipped, feeling his cheeks warm up.

"I'm allowed to ask these things," the white fox chuckled, folding his paws in his lap. "Have you slept with her yet?" he repeated, smiling all the while.

"Well," Fox started, struggling to come up with an appropriate phrasing for his sentence. "We stay the night at each other's houses all the time, and there have been times where we've slept in the same bed because–"

Vince showed off a toothy smile at the mention of the vulpine sharing a bed with her, and as soon as he smiled Fox cut himself off and shook his head.

"Fo- _oox_ …" the arctic fox cooed slowly, leaning forward in his chair. "You're not answering my question."

"I don't feel comfortable discussing my sex life, even with you," the orange vulpine explained, starting to lose his patience.

"So you have?"

"One time!" Fox shouted suddenly, cupping his head in his paws. He slowly lifted his head back up and continued in a hushed voice. "It was one time, alright? It was just a one-off thing… She had a really rough day after her sister died in a car accident last year, and... it was her idea. She wanted me to comfort her. I couldn't say no to her."

"That's all I wanted to hear buddy," Vince said reassuringly. "I don't have a problem with you sleeping with her just so long as you are putting her before yourself, and are making her happy above all else."

Fox finally let a grin surface. "Thanks Unc–"

"And as long as you plan on putting a ring on her finger, if you catch the drift," Vince added, narrowing his eyes.

"Don't worry," Fox assured. "As soon as I scrape up enough credits, I'm getting her the most beautiful engagement ring anyone has ever seen. She's worth it."

"Hey, with your invention, we'll be rolling in it," Vince replied with a wide smile. "Seriously Fox, something like what you created will sell for a _lot_ , especially for the CDF. It'll get mass produced, and pretty soon we're up to our necks in credits."

"You really think so?" Fox asked, eyeing the option on his transmitter HUD.

"Sure do kit," Vince chuckled, leaning forward in his seat. "So, you've got yourself a brand new invention… what're ya gonna call it?"

Fox was yet again caught off-guard with his sudden question. "Damn, I've never really thought of that," he muttered, humming in confusion.

"You gonna try and throw your name in there somewhere?" Vince suggested.

"Nah, I'm not one to advertise myself," Fox grinned, continuing to stare at his transmitter. "Hmmm… How about the Reflector?"

Vince nearly snorted and let a small grin surface. "Reflector, eh? Seems… unoriginal. I think it might need a better, more creative name, ya know? It's not often you can create something this amazing, and you're just gonna–"

"What's my name, Vince?" Fox interrupted with a confident smirk, raising his eyebrows a few times for good measure. Vince clamped a paw over his muzzle to keep himself from exploding in laughter, then once he regained his composure he gave his own smirk to the vulpine.

"Reflector it is."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Wolf grunted as he opened the door to his rather smaller classroom, and was startled to see all six of his cadets already in the room talking with each other. The four male Verian cadets sitting in the room all shared a similarly colored uniform consisting of a rather thin flight suit, boots, and a set of fingerless gloves, while the two female Verians had a rather similar set of apparel, just modified to accommodate for their feminine features. They all sat around a few chairs and shared a few laughs before the lupine shut the door with his foot; the noise causing his cadets to all glance up at him.

"Mornin' fellas," Wolf chuckled, removing his large overcoat and hanging it on the hook near the door.

"I'm surprised you showed up today sir," a rather flat snouted dragon remarked with a smirk, pivoting his head so that his dull crimson hide could glimmer in the light seeping through the windows.

"Come on Kaalney," a female golden Verian with a full head of long, jet black hair complained, narrowing her dull green eyes at the red dragon. "Commander O'Donnell just went on vacation for a while, right?"

"Just went to go see an old family friend of mine," Wolf answered with a grin, stepping over to his rather minimalistic desk and grabbing a holographic tablet off of the surface. "Alright, three twenty-seventh trainee, that's you guys right?"

"You were only gone for a few days sir," a forest green Verian with a slender looking snout chuckled.

"I know, I know," Wolf laughed back, suppressing a yawn. "I got back early this morning. You guys are lucky I'm even here today."

A low chorus of laughs cracked up from the six Verian cadets as Wolf scanned his tablet.

"Okay, Jakob?"

"Yup," a pearly white dragon with a rather short snout grunted, throwing his hand in the air aimlessly.

"How you doin' big guy?" Wolf asked with a grin, tapping the tablet with an audible click.

"Not bad sir," Jakob answered, flicking his long ears happily. Jakob Skathin, a rather small Verian at five foot ten was just doing what he did best, and that was staying happy. It was damn near impossible to get this pure white dragon with a rather long, full head of similarly colored fur either angry or upset, and some wondered how he even got accepted into the Royal Verian Air Force because of that mentality. However, he was a natural at flying, and it seemed as though his natural talent rubbed off on his teammates and squadron members, as well as his care-free and chill attitude.

Wolf nodded, then glanced up at a dark navy blue scaled dragon fidgeting with his tight uniform, not paying an ounce of attention to the conversation. "Rikthian?"

The dragon suddenly jerked his head up and widened his eyes, making his chair clatter momentarily on the concrete floors. "Oh, uh, yeah, sir?"

"Good morning?" the gray wolf smirked, getting a few chuckles out of the other cadets.

"Sorry sir," Rikthian said absentmindedly, avoiding eye contact. Rikthian Monmaro, despite being a very, _very_ distant relative to a founder of one of the five political houses of Veris Alpha, wasn't a very big socializer. He'd never say anything unless it was absolutely necessary to, and that sometimes acted against him in training exercises. However, Wolf took quite a liking to the thin-snouted, thin-framed Verian because he reminded the lupine of Fox when he was rather shy, but had a very broad, yet untapped set of skills and potential. Wolf had quite a bit of patience for him, and did everything in his power to try and break the dragon out of his shell, although the dragon was extremely timid with the lupine.

"You're alright Rikthy," Wolf grinned, tapping at his tablet once again. "Uh… Jenna?"

"Mornin' sir!" The gold scaled female soldier exclaimed excitedly, waving at the lupine for good measure. Jenna Layvin, a very slim, tall, and beautiful Verian soldier was an absolute gem in the classroom and in the sky, as well as having the greatest hair among all female cadets. She took pride in her drop-dead gorgeous looks, ranging from her glimmering golden hide to her perfectly shaped feminine frame all the way to her piercing dull green eyes, pointed slender snout, and wavy jet black hair. She had a very calm, yet flirtatious attitude, and it always put a smile on the wolf's muzzle when the female would throw in a particularly suggestive remark into the conversation, although she knew good and well that he didn't tolerate that kind of behavior in combat or training.

"How you holdin' up beautiful?" Wolf remarked with a half-grin, making the dragon smile and bite her tongue, curling her long tail behind her seat.

"Sir, you're married, aren't you?" Kaalney questioned with an eyebrow raised and a sly smirk creasing his snout. Wolf snickered back after tapping his tablet and hissed quietly at the dark red dragon.

"She doesn't have to know, does she?" Wolf asked sarcastically, shrugging his shoulders. All six of the cadets erupted into laughter as the lupine snickered again and slowly paced towards the door on the opposite side of where his desk was located.

"Anyway, Kaalney, I see you've already made your presence known."

"Doin' what I do best, sir," the crimson Verian said confidently with his arms crossed. Kaalney Nemith, just like Jenna, is a very flirty, yet sure-footed soldier. His confidence around women transferred over to the sky, as he was one of the best pilots-in-training the RVAF had at the current moment. He made sure he was presentable in public with his short, almost crew-cut-like ink black hair and with his apparel. He was the only Verian cadet in the room that had his flight suit slightly unzipped, showing off a necklace that glimmered in the sunlight. Although flirty, he's had a reputation for not being able to keep a relationship due to his rather shallow sense of empathy and compassion, and often times his rather cruel sense of humor and sarcasm gets in the way of his relationships too.

"Besides not having a girlfriend," Wolf remarked, getting the rest of the classroom to erupt into laughter once more.

"Hey, that's cruel sir," Kaalney whined.

"And I'm a very cruel person," Wolf added. "You should know that by now."

"Yeah, he _is_ a Cornerian after all," Kaalney muttered under his breath somewhat sourly, and to his relief the lupine did not hear him.

"Alright… Lilith?" Wolf continued.

"I'm here sir," a very small and cute light gray Verian female piped up awkwardly. Lilith Krosiiv was a rather new addition to the RVAF's 327th training regiment – which was Wolf's squadron – so she still had to get adjusted to her new teammates. Like Rikthian, she was rather shy and anti-social, but at least she made the effort to talk to her teammates unlike the navy blue dragon that was still avoiding eye contact with the rest of the room. Everyone knew that this smaller dragon with the rather uncommon curly white locks and a pointed snout that almost resembled a Cornerian vulpine muzzle had a crush on Jakob, but for whatever reason she was reluctant to talk to him about it. In fact, Jakob found it cute that she was so interested yet so shy when it came to him.

"How's it goin' sweetie?" he asked with a grin.

"I'm okay," she answered softly, but sweetly.

"Did your brother ever get that position in the VGC?" he asked. Lilith was rather shocked he still remembered, then struggled to respond as she was not expecting this kind of question so suddenly.

"No, they assigned him to air traffic control back at HQ," she answered with an unnoticeable stutter.

"Ah, that's still really good though."

"He's better at that kind of stuff, so I guess it is."

Wolf nodded and tapped at his screen yet again, then glanced up at the last dragon he had yet to call on. The forest green dragon suppressed a laugh and held up his hands in defeat.

"Last yet again," he chuckled. Wolf shrugged his head and poked his screen.

"It's not intentional, Arkédan, I swear," the lupine grinned, setting his tablet back on his desk.

"That's what you always say, sir," Arkédan remarked with a grin. Arkédan Grenvich, the tallest of all the squadron members at six foot six, acted smaller and younger than he actually was in lighthearted situations such as a classroom lecture he was currently in. He had a particularly curvy and slender snout that almost made him look like a female, but he counteracted that with a full head of unruly jet black hair and a very mature expression that has become synonymous with his name over time. In combat, he is very dependable and reliable, but as soon as he's not in danger he'll wreak havoc on people's sides and throats with the insane amount of laughter he can provoke. He had a great sense of humor, and just like Jakob, it was hard to get on his bad side.

Wolf clasped his paws together and trotted up to the middle of the room. "Alright, I know I've only been gone less than a week, and this stuff should be fresh in my mind, but I'm running on fumes and a few hours of sleep right now… not to mention I had it off with my wife last night, so I have no idea what we should be doing. Anyone care to help me out?"

After a loud eruption of laugher stemming from the class due to the lupine's last remark, Jakob regained his composure and spoke up politely, choking through laughter in the process. "Fighter classes, sir."

"Ah– aw shit," he growled, getting another chorus of overwhelming and mirthful laughter from his cadets. "I'm not good with describing these. Uh… alright. There's three main classes, right? What's one, Kaalney?"

"Eypon," he answered instantly.

"Ah, the big guns," he said with a grin. "Nasty, nasty ships. Do not want to get in the way of these guys. Fast, mean, powerful, dangerous, but they are ugly sons of bitches, lemme tell ya."

Wolf trotted over to his desk and picked up a small device, then after he poked a button on the side, a small holographic image of the fighter he was describing popped up.

"Like I said, these things have a little bit of everything," he explained, carefully scanning the image. "You name a weapon or system, this beast has one. Nose chain-gun, laser cannons, quad missile launchers that can be customized for specialized missions, hell you name it."

He closed out that image and pointed at Jenna. "What's another one?"

"Egret, right?" she answered.

"Yup… my wife's favorite," he added, pulling up an image of a rather small and sleek fighter. "Super-fast ships. Blazing top speeds. Light, yet effective if you can get a bunch of these little guys together. These little guys have rapid-fire pulse laser cannons which are good when you have more than just one, but they are very fragile and have very light shields. They are very aerodynamic and maneuverable, so it shouldn't be hard to shake an enemy if you do happen to get one on your tail. Like I said, it's very important you hunt in numbers if you have these fighters since they're rather unprotected."

Wolf chuckled after he retracted the hologram. "Alright, one more. My personal favorite. Which is it?"

"Raptor," Jakob announced.

"Atta boy," Wolf smiled, pulling up the fighter in question on his device. "Love these guys. Raptors; mean interceptor class fighters. They may be slower than the others, but you best make sure you don't have one of these stuck on your tail. They've got a longer range and a very broad arsenal to take care of enemy squadrons. Twin pulse lasers and twin missile pods, with a fairly large laser cannon for good measure."

Wolf powered his device down and made his way back to his desk. "Now, I have my own personalized Raptor," he said as he picked up another device. "Modified to my personal tastes. Faster, lighter, more maneuverable, and more destructive. Check her out."

Wolf pulled up an image of a very sleek and pointed fighter that almost didn't look like a normal Raptor. Not only was it more aerodynamic looking and less heavy, but it honestly looked nicer than normal Raptors. Its four thin inverted wings were also an inconsistency from the normal fighter, but it also made it look more maneuverable at the same time.

"The Wolfen," he remarked proudly. "Beautiful craft. And no, none of you guys can take her for a spin."

"Not even me, sir?" Arkédan asked, tilting his ears.

"Not even you," Wolf answered in roughly the same tone of voice, grinning all the while. He turned the projection device off again and replaced it with his tablet.

"Alright, I'm tired, and don't feel like teaching any more today, so last thing before I let you guys go," he stated as he scrolled through some options. "What model fighters do you guys want to specialize in when we start simulations? …Let's start with you Kaalney."

"I'm liking the Eypon," he responded.

"Alright… Jenna?"

"I like the Egret, sir," she answered.

"Awesome. Jakob?"

"I'll follow in your footsteps, sir. I'll go for the Raptor."

"Hell yeah," Wolf grinned widely, giving the white dragon a wink of approval. "How about you Rikthian?"

"Uh, Egret, please, sir."

"Absolutely. Lilith?"

"Same here sir. I'll go with an Egret."

"Good to know I've got a bunch of these," Wolf grinned. "You three will definitely need to stick together."

Wolf looked over at the green dragon, then nearly snorted as he realized the expression on his snout. "I did it again, didn't I?"

"Yes you did sir," Arkédan chuckled.

"Shit, dude, I'm honestly sorry I keep picking you last for everything," Wolf said sheepishly, trying to keep a smile on his face.

"Not a problem sir. Uh, I'll go for an Eypon."

"Sure thing bud," Wolf replied, then placed the tablet on his desk again. "Alright… You guys are free to go. I'm done for today. Just make sure you guys are back here tomorrow, eight hundred sharp. Take care fellas."

Wolf watched as the Verian cadets filed out of the classroom and out into the hallway. He let out a breath of air through his nose as he fell into his chair behind his desk, and unbeknownst to even himself he slowly started drifting off. He let his head fall back onto the chair as he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, but the noise of his transmitter buzzing loudly instantly jerked his eyes open. He lazily flipped his arm up and accepted the call.

"Hello?"

"Hey Wolf," a voice the lupine instantly recognized came back, making him jolt up in his seat as a new found energy spike surged through his body.

"Oh, hey Jona," he said happily. "What's up?"

"Nothin' much," the Verian answered. "Sup with you?"

"Ah, just finished another lecture with the kids," Wolf said with a slight chuckle.

"I remember when I was in those classes," Jona chuckled back. "Wasn't the most riveting thing, but I really did enjoy it."

"Yeah, it's alright," he replied.

"You mind if I stop by in a few days and interrupt your class, just for the hell of it?"

"I would, but I'm teachin' tomorrow," Wolf answered. "Sheila has her class meeting in a few days, so you can jump in and interrupt her if you'd like. She'd love to see you again."

"Heh, I'd do a little more than just interrupt the class, if you catch the drift," Jona said in a rather low and scheming voice.

"Yeah, yeah, I know how you– wait what?"

Jona instantly started laughing. "I'm just screwin' with ya."

"You better just be screwin' me and not her," he said with a smirk.

"Hey, you've already had your way with her; I'm not gonna touch anything you've already contaminated."

"Oh, that's fuckin' harsh," Wolf laughed, practically doubling over in laughter. "That sarcasm of yours is gonna get you killed."

"Not if I kill you first," Jona instantly retorted, himself choking through laughter.

"I've about had enough of you for today," Wolf shot sarcastically, shaking his head in the process.

"Well, I gotta hit the road anyway," Jona replied. "Just wanted to call you and see how things were going on your end."

"I'm alright," he answered. "How are you taking the "not being able to go back to Cerinia" situation?"

"Hurts," the dragon instantly replied. "It hurts. I found out that one of my charges is in love with me, and the worst part is that I have to tell her she can't."

"Yeah, isn't Krystal a bit young for you, big guy?"

"That's the problem," Jona added. "Krys is way too young. I hate to do it to her, but I need to tell her. I'm more worried about how she will respond to that."

"True," Wolf nodded. "Well, good luck anyway bud. I'll see you around."

"Thanks. Take care Wolf," Jona said before terminating the connection.

Wolf let out a long breath of air through his nose as he slouched back down in his seat.

"He doesn't deserve to be put through that," the lupine muttered under his breath. "Jona is too nice of a guy to put down a girl, especially one of his charges… I feel sorry for him…"

Wolf closed his eyes once more, and let out one last almost inaudible remark before he let sleep overtake him.

"I just hope Krystal will understand."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

General Todd McClellan found the soldier he was searching for right where he expected him to be. Standing a few inches away from a guardrail overlooking the recently completed Cornerian-American warship was the General's son, First Lieutenant Joel McClellan. He stood there, staring at the ship intently with his unmistakable stance of letting his left leg bend backwards slightly as he had his rather muscular arms folded. The top portion of his camouflage uniform was missing, showcasing a sandy brown tank top that had visible patches of sweat all over it – implying he had just finished a rigorous day of training. Without another moment of hesitation, the general stepped alongside of him and got his attention by placing a hand over his shoulder.

"Hey Joel," Todd said very informally, patting his son's shoulder. "How you holding up kiddo?"

"Not bad, pops, not bad at all," Joel said warmly in a very mature voice, clutching the general's hand and leaned in to give him a quick hug. Joel was surprisingly taller than his father, standing at an even six feet, and weighed much more than him in pure muscle and strength. His black hair contrasted with his father's, and even at that, his hair was curly and long enough to flow over and past his ears, along with a similarly colored stubbly beard covering his face. He had a scar just off to the right of the bridge of his nose, and his nose was also slightly crooked as well due to an accident during training a long while ago. Joel grinned as he transitioned his gaze back to the warship that had numerous engineers working on it.

"She is just so amazing," he remarked, leaning up against the guardrail. "Never would have thought we'd be able to pull off travel like this. It's just incredible."

"You like her?" Todd asked as he too leaned on the railing, standing mere inches away from his son.

" _Love_ her," Joel corrected. "She's a beautiful craft. Are we keeping the name on her?"

"What, the _Great Fox_?" he asked, pointing at the forest green letters that were painted just above the main hull, exactly how the Cornerian dreadnaught years before had those same words. "Of course. It ain't the Cornerians' _Great Fox_ , but ours is easily five times better."

Joel snickered to himself, staring out at the lettering. "Hated seeing the Cornerians' versions of these, but now that she's got that 'made in the USA' look… She's absolutely beautiful."

"Would you want to command a ship like that?"

"Absolutely," Joel replied with no hesitation. "Wouldn't be able to fly her, per say, but I just want to be on her for a mission or something. Imagine the looks on the commies' faces when we'd storm in with these, eh?"

Todd and Joel both shared a good laugh, bumping into each other simultaneously as if they were hockey players prepping for a big game. Once the general's laughter died down, he sighed and started at the spacecraft.

"So you're saying you want to command her?"

Joel turned his gaze to his father and stared at him questioningly. "What do you mean?"

Todd chuckled and inched a bit closer to the soldier. "Your mom, she, uh… she gave the approval to launch her as soon as everything was in working order. She gave us the okay to use our plan to get our much needed revenge on those Cornerian bastards."

"Damn, that's awesome," he smiled, then let his smile fade a few seconds later. "Wait, dad, are you saying…?"

Todd nodded with a grin. "I want you in charge of the first reconnaissance mission to Fichina."

Joel's eyes instantly shot open wider than dinner plates. He tried to respond, but all that came out was a breathy grunt as he doubled over slightly and let a massive smile surface. He chuckled in that same exhaling voice for a good ten seconds as he shook his head in disbelief.

"You're seriously letting me?" he asked in a state of pure elation. Todd couldn't help but laugh at him as he nodded once again.

"Joel, you're… In all honesty, you're the best soldier I've ever gotten the privilege to train. I may be biased since you're my son and all, but… you've got skill, and I'm proud of you for it."

Joel kept his smile and let his head hang low. "Dad, I… This is an honor… I'm extremely eager and excited to command this mission."

"It won't be just you, kiddo," Todd remarked, wrapping his arm over Joel's neck. "You'll be the lead commander, but you'll be with nineteen other troops. I'll let you bring your squadron since you fellas have such amazing chemistry together, but I will provide some other troops for your recon group that will provide you with a tactical and strategic advantage."

"What's the plan once our group lands on Fichina?"

"Easy," Todd replied with a confident smile. "Hopefully you won't land too far away from the military base, but if you do, it'll be nasty. We received temperature readings from this frozen wasteland from the old Cornerian technology and intelligence, and from what we can convert to our measurements we're speculating it will be colder than Siberia. You boys will be geared up to combat that cold, and once you get to that military base, you guys can easily storm in and take it over effortlessly. I have faith in you."

"Wait, aren't the Cornerians really dangerous?" Joel asked, shifting his stance. "They're weaponry is highly advanced. They'd be able to hold us off, right?"

"I wouldn't bet on it," Todd chuckled. "With your crew, I have no worries. Keep your assault low-profile and quiet, but quick and merciless. They won't even know what hit 'em."

"Aren't you coming with?"

"I wish I could, kiddo," he replied sadly. "Your mom doesn't want me to go yet. I had to _beg_ her to authorize _you_ as our lead officer for this mission. But don't worry, as soon as you radio back the all-clear, I'll be on that first follow-up transport."

Joel nodded slowly, continuing to stare out at the large warship. "Thank you so much dad. I won't let you down."

"Good to hear," Todd grinned, patting Joel's shoulder. "Might as well start getting prepped now. I want you and your crew off of this planet by tomorrow."

"In a hurry to get rid of us, eh?" Joel chuckled sarcastically.

"Not really," Todd chuckled back, scratching his neck. "I'm rooting for you kiddo… stay safe out there. Always watch your ass."

"Will do pops," Joel laughed, popping off of the guardrail, then spun around and trotted towards his barracks.

Since Joel was a relatively higher rank than most of the other soldiers, and the fact that his father was a four-star general, he did get a bit of special and spoiling privileges. He and his four other platoon members had their very own quarters to stay in, although they were the same as everyone else's for the most part. A long, ten minute trek through the large army base later, Joel was slowly creaking open the door to his crew's room, with all of the members relaxing inside as well.

On the cot that was the closest to the front door was First Sergeant Erik Josef, Joel's best friend, albeit polar opposite. Joel's specialty in combat is marksmanship, while Erik loves to get up close and personal with the enemy, sometimes going as far as fighting hand-to-hand. Joel is a rather small and slim man, while Erik is nothing but gigantic – standing at six foot five and weighing in at two hundred and thirty-five pounds, and all of that is pure muscle. Erik's hair is also different, that being a closely trimmed coconut shell brown crew cut. With all of these differences, both army officers have developed a very strong friendship, and an even stronger bond on the battlefield.

On the cot behind the huge brown haired man sat blonde-haired Specialist Charlie Hemmingway, another close friend of the First Lieutenant. Charlie is smaller than Joel at only five foot nine, but he exhibits a rather broad knowledge of machines. He always was considered a nerd in school, but that was only because he was, and in fact he loves to get involved with any technical project the army has to offer. If that wasn't enough, he would always have his Gameboy on him at all times, and he would play it whenever he would have a spare moment. However, all of that didn't take away from his skill in handling a weapon.

On the other wall, a rather darker skinned bald soldier named Ramsay Wyle relaxed on his cot, polishing the muzzle of his customized FAL. Ramsay is a rather goofy Staff Sergeant, but when in combat he is irreplaceable. His chill and laid-back attitude makes him a very well-liked officer, and his skill with his semi-automatic rifle makes him a valuable asset in tense situations. Like the other two men in the room, he is one of Joel's closets friends.

Finally, a rather new addition to Joel's team, Corporal Eliot Sparks, was spread out on his cot with his massive German shepherd named Stryker sitting close by. Eliot was Stryker's trainer, and a damn good one at that. He had trained seven different shepherds for sniffing out bombs and explosives before he was assigned Stryker, but he loved this dog more than his other trainees. What was funny was Eliot's relatively longer dark brown, almost black hair mimicked the shepherd's fur color almost perfectly. Eliot had a special bond with this particular canine that none of his other group members could figure out, but nobody questioned it since he was just too damn good at what he did.

Almost as soon as Joel shut the door to the quarters, he walked over to the half-asleep shepherd and patted his head. "Hey there big fella," he said with a smile, making the huge dog's tail wag.

"I'm impressed," Eliot remarked with his eyes still closed and his hands folded behind his head. "Usually Stryker would've been all over you by now. Must be tired."

"You train him hard today?" Joel asked, scratching behind the shepherd's ears.

"He got an extra hour of advanced training today," he answered in a low groan. "If anything _I'm_ the one that's exhausted."

"So I can see," Lieutenant McClellan chuckled, patting Eliot's chest. "Hopefully you ain't too tired for tomorrow. All of ya."

"I've got an off-day tomorrow," Elliot answered unenthusiastically.

"Yeah, same here Joel," Erik butted in, sitting up on his cot. "We're not scheduled for tomorrow."

"Not anymore," Joel said smoothly, making his way to his bed.

"What're you talking about?" Erik asked confusedly.

Joel couldn't help but smirk. "We just got assigned a reconnaissance mission. We leave tomorrow, and probably won't be back for another month… maybe longer."

"What the fuck?" Ramsay exclaimed with a raised eyebrow. "Where the hell are we going for an entire month Joel?"

"Yeah, this is just so sudden," Charlie piped in. "Where?"

Joel sat on his bedside and folded his arms confidently. "We're taking the war right to Corneria's doorstep."

"You can't be serious!" Ramsay bellowed, setting his rifle up against the wall.

"I sure am," Joel snickered. "We got assigned to the new warship they just finished building. In less than one week we'll all be in Lylat, planning an attack on these flea-bitten bastards."

Erik opened his mouth, but Joel already knew what he was about to say. The black haired man instantly raised his hand up and started speaking again.

"We're not the only ones," he explained. "We're apparently merging with another squadron, supposedly a total of twenty soldiers. We're the main platoon though. We go in, land on this barren icy planet with barely any civilization on it, and then take over the military base there. From what my father told me, it will be a simple operation. They're already crippled, so we can take them while they're hurt."

"How big is this base we're assuming control over?" Erik asked.

"Apparently not too large," he answered. "The population there is only a few thousand, so maybe only one hundred stationed soldiers? He never really explained that to me, but all he said was we would be able to take care of it."

"Hell yeah we can take care of 'em!" Ramsay said enthusiastically. "Hell, I can fuck 'em up with my bare hands, man!"

"Alright, settle Rammy," Joel chuckled. "Save the energy for the fight. The flight from here to that planet is supposedly only four days, so that's plenty of time to strategize and prepare."

"Plenty of time to write my will," Eliot remarked under his breath.

"We'll be fine," Erik assured, giving a grin to the Lieutenant. "I'm honestly pumped for this. Can't wait to add to my collection."

Sergeant Josef cranked himself around and picked a very long, white, and bushy object from the wall behind his bedside and stared at it proudly. Charlie raised an eyebrow at it confusedly with his eyes narrowed.

"Wait, that's a _Cornerian_ tail?"

"Sure is," Erik answered, straightening out some loose hairs. "Came from the little fight we had years ago in Iowa, where that huge warship came down. I still remember launching that RPG at their little transport ship and blowing that to shit. Killed this guy as a result."

He chuckled yet again as he made the tail bounce around as it dangled from his hand. "Took this trophy from this giant husky lookin' creature. Tags said 'Anthony Garrison'. Said he was a pilot for this _Husky Squadron_. Must be an important little bastard."

"And you have his… tail…" Charlie muttered hesitantly, somewhat disgusted by the giant soldier's trophy.

Erik shrugged his head and continued to grope the bushy appendage. "Kinda soft though. You guys ever sit down and think how weird it must feel to have something like _this_ hanging off your ass?"

"No Josef," Eliot grumbled impatiently, letting his arm hang off the bed as he stroked Stryker's sleeping head. "Swear to God, man, you are such a furry."

"Ha, ha; fuck you too," Erik grunted, hanging the large severed tail back on his wall. "You're just jealous you don't have a trophy."

"I survived the attack on New York, that's a trophy in and of itself," Corporal Sparks remarked with an uncharacteristic, yet almost unnoticeable low growl.

"You okay Sparky?" Ramsay asked concernedly. "You sound a little edged."

Eliot suddenly turned onto his side and cranked his head up to stare at the Staff Sergeant. "I'm just… kinda hesitant with this retaliation attack," he admitted, again letting his arm hang off the bed to rub at his shepherd's ears. "I was at New York helping the survivors after that attack six years ago, when all of a sudden another Cornerian warship lands right where Madison Square Garden used to be. Hell, I thought we'd get attacked again, but they started helping us… They said they had the wrong orders… They didn't mean to attack in the first place, they said."

Joel hummed curiously and leaned forward. "So they just went from overwhelmingly hostile, to peaceful and helpful in only a few days?"

"I guess so," he answered. "Like I said, they kept saying they had the wrong orders. I dunno, I'm just as confused as you guys are. They took about fifty of the injured civilians aboard to help them, then they suddenly just packed up and left with them still aboard. I didn't know if they were gonna treat them back home or capture them, but once they didn't come back I had my answer."

"They abducted civilians?" Erik asked.

"Seems that way," Eliot replied. "I… I remember talking with one of the Cornerians too. Little girl, probably still a teenager – couldn't have been older than thirteen. Cute little lynx creature. I think she said her name was Miyu. Said she was brought along to help out since they didn't have an adequate surplus of capable soldiers. They were struggling, which was probably why they left when they did."

"How do you still remember her name?" Charlie questioned. "Josef stole the dog's tags, but… how…?"

Eliot shrugged. "She was adorable. It pained me to see such a young girl forced to work. Her name just stuck with me."

"A _Cornerian_ girl," Erik interrupted. "Her parents probably destroyed the Statue of Liberty."

"We probably _killed_ her parents," Eliot shot back.

"What does it matter?" Joel butted in, standing up off of his cot and stepping in between the bickering soldiers. "They're all alien abominations anyway. They killed our kind too, regardless if they were soldiers or children. They're savages, and guaranteed the group that helped you, Eliot, got convicted for aiding the enemy or treason. The people they abducted were probably tortured and killed. They deserve the hell we're about to put them through."

"Agreed," Charlie grunted.

"I second that," Ramsay added.

"Lights out!" another voice barked from outside the door, lightly pounding on the wall a few times for good measure. Joel grunted in acknowledgement, then trotted over to the light switch by the front door.

"Get some rest boys," Joel said as he flicked the switch, plunging the room into pitch black darkness.

"We're gonna need it."

* * *

 _This place has a special kind of fallin' apart  
Like they put the whole thing together in the dark  
No one knows where the edge of the knife is  
And no one knows what intelligent life is_

 _No one knows me  
No one saves me  
No one loves or hates me  
But it's fate  
I only ever really wanted a break  
I've been away for too long  
Though I never really wanted to stay  
I've been away for too long_

 _*Soundgarden – Been Away Too Long*_


	4. Professor

**A/N: Well, I _did_ have a bit of a longer update planned for today, but then I got called in to almost 18 hours of work over the July 4th weekend short notice. Yeah, I'm pissed if you couldn't tell. Killed all of my time I planned to work on this chapter, and turns out that anger coincided with the ease to work on this chapter, as much as it pains me to say it.**

 **Like I said, I planned on having another scene in here, but then that happened. Don't worry, that scene will be in the next chapter. In the meantime, how about you guys check out this update. I'll admit, I did have a lot of fun with this one.**

 **As usual, feedback is encouraged and welcome. Glad to see you guys are on board with this, and I hope you enjoy this shorter-than-anticipated update. Hope my American viewers had a fun and safe 4th (cause mine was soiled by work), and if you didn't (or are not American), hopefully this will cheer you guys up. Take care fellas!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Professor**

* * *

Fox pushed open the front doors to the CDF HQ and was greeted with a rather chilly gust of wind that rustled his fur and lab coat. He rolled down the sleeves of his coat as a result and instantly made his way to clock himself in. As soon as he stamped his card in, he was startled as a light gray paw slapped down on his shoulder gently.

"Professor McCloud," a gray pit-bull chortled in a surprisingly non-taunting tone, getting the vulpine to perk his ears up as he recognized the voice.

"Oh, hey Bill," Fox said right back, clutching at the canine's paw and leaned in for a friendly hug. "Haven't seen you around in a while."

"I could say the same thing to you," Bill admitted, twitching his rather long and slim ears as he followed the vulpine out into the main lobby. Bill Grey, a rather young but gifted pilot, was no stranger to the orange vulpine. When Fox was still at the academy, he was paired up with the rather tall but slim pit-bull as a simulation partner, and although those two were always trading victories back and forth, they seemed to leave the rest of the class behind in terms of skill. Once they graduated, Bill became one of the fastest promoted pilots in the entire CDF, and it was all because of his immense skill and talent. He was clothed in his usual gray and green flight suit, with his helmet wedged underneath his arm as he spoke to the vulpine scientist.

"Sorry, I've been a little busy on the other side of HQ," Fox explained, giving askance glances to his wrist transmitter. "You know me: once I get stuck on something it's really hard to get me away from it."

"Come up with anything yet?" he asked, running his thumb across the visor of his custom-made helmet – one that Fox himself actually perfected for him as a matter of fact.

"Actually, I have, but it's still early in development and I'm not too sure if it's completely done or not."

"You got a prototype you wanna show me?" Bill suggested. Fox hesitated for a split-second, then shrugged his shoulders and nodded as he trotted over to the rather tall reception desk. Bill smiled and laid his helmet on the desk as he watched Fox pull up the holographic HUD screen on his transmitter. Right as the vulpine nonchalantly started inching his finger towards an option on the main screen the pit-bull didn't recognize, another voice shouted out from behind them and startled both canids.

"Ah, Professor McCloud!" an unmistakably urban sounding voice shouted, and before Fox could even process his next move he felt two hands wrap over his shoulders and around his neck, threatening to cut off his airways.

"I already gave him that title Falco," Bill chuckled. The blue avian shrugged his shoulders momentarily, then gave a playful slug to the vulpine's shoulder after retracting his vice grip from his neck.

"Fine then. How's it goin' Foxie?" Falco asked with a smirk, ruffling his feathers. Another good friend from the vulpine's academy days, Falco Lombardi was your stereotypical full-of-himself ace pilot, albeit restrained from holding a higher position in the CDF because of personal and/or disciplinary reasons. His father held a rather important position in the force as a matter of fact, but he wasn't a chip off the old block as much as he claimed himself to be. Fox found that, despite his numerous socialization glitches and massive ego, Falco knew how to keep a good friendly relationship interesting, and usually not in a bad way.

"I could ask you the same thing Fal," Fox laughed silently, giving the taller avian the same friendly gesture as the gray canine moments ago.

"Same thing, day in and day out," Falco answered unenthusiastically, crossing his wings. "I swear man, if we don't start gettin' some action or somethin', I'm gonna go fly solo."

"Aw, don't be like that little birdie," Bill smirked. "CDF's not all about action."

"I know, and that's what's drivin' me insane," Falco replied, flaring his feathers out. "I used to have a patrol route and that kept me sane, but ever since I "screwed up" with Fichina's route, they kicked me off."

The rather sour inflection Falco put on the "screwed up" part of his sentence piqued Fox's interest. "How'd you mess up?" he asked.

"It wasn't my fault," Falco quickly added with no pauses, almost like he was saying one singular word, holding his wings up as if he was being arrested. "They told me to pull my position to stay away from a Verian patrol squadron that was campin' out around Fichina. If they didn't pull me back, I would've been dragon food."

" _Again_ , how'd you mess up Falco?" Fox repeated.

"They never gave me the command to resume patrol," Falco explained sourly. "They claim they told me to go back after it was over, but I still to this day have never gotten that confirmation message. Pisses me off since it wasn't my fault, yet _I_ got punished for it."

"Damn, sorry Fal," Fox said softly.

"Wait, patrol routes for supply shipments?" Bill asked.

"You should know, dog-boy, you've got one too," Falco retorted. "Yes I had protection duty for those supply transports. What about 'em?"

"Well I knew we retracted food transports during the war, but I didn't know we called them off if there was Verian activity."

"They picked the wrong planet to set up shop," Fox butted in. "Remember what happened to Fichina during the war?"

"Yeah, we were too busy supplying the warships over Earth and we didn't send any supply ships there for months," Bill answered, but Falco's obnoxious sarcastic laughter cut him off.

"Is that the story they're tellin' ya dog-boy?" the avian choked through laughter, wiping a feathered digit under his eye. "Heh, don't believe any story the CDF tells ya."

"You've got a better explanation, bird brain?" Bill shot back.

"Why don't'cha ask Einstein over here," Falco quipped, pointing at the orange vulpine. Fox shrugged his shoulders in response.

"I was always told the same thing," he admitted, cocking his ears. "What do you know that we don't?"

"Careful Fox, I wouldn't trust this bird as far as I could throw him," Bill whispered, causing the avian to flare his feathers out.

Falco let out an impatient sigh and shook his head. "The CDF _intentionally_ cut ties with Fichina."

Fox's jaw dropped. "Come on Falco, don't say that we intent–"

"We sure did," Falco interrupted with a proud half-smirk. "Fichina's senator disapproved of the war on humanity, so Prime Dickhead Muzzin grounded supply transports to that planet to _forcefully_ change their viewpoint of the war."

"Are you serious?" Bill asked in disbelief, causing the blue bird to roll his eyes.

"My father has a copy of the paperwork sittin' at home," he answered. "You don't believe me, then you can go and see Muzzin's signature under the groundin' ordinance."

"Wow," Fox gapped.

"They reauthorized the transports when Senator Enroth changed his vote," Falco continued. "Dude had to live with starvin' his people, but can ya blame him? Hell, I'm pretty sure everyone livin' on that snowball supported him in his decision to stand up to Parliament, but unfortunately people started starvin', so he had no choice but to change his vote to keep his people alive. I heard it was close to being a genocide over there."

"That's insane," Fox remarked.

"Now you see why I can't stand Parliament, or the entire Defense Force for that matter," the blue avian explained, folding his wings over his navy blue flight suit. "Fuckin' corruption man. You wonder why I'm gonna quit after my contract is up next month."

"But, you can't just quit the CDF because of that," the vulpine argued. "They need everyone they can get right now."

"Ha! As if!" Falco scoffed, ruffling his feathers. "As far as I'm concerned we're expendable."

"Come on Falco," Bill grunted.

"Don't _Falco_ me, dog-boy," the avian snapped. "Sooner or later we're gonna get deployed against the Verians because of Parliament's mindless and impulsive ideas, and that'll be the end of us. Simple as that."

"Don't be so pessimistic," Fox half-grinned, but Falco was right there to cut him off.

"I'm _pissed_ -imistic, thank you very much," he retorted, causing Bill to crack up laughing. "Don't you be laughing, dog-boy, 'cause you're gonna be right behind me."

"Easy birdie," Fox said calmly, pawing at the avian's back. "Calm down. We'll be fine."

"Fox I'm not fallin' for–"

"Falco, calm down," Fox repeated. "Nothing's gonna happen to–"

"Paws off!" Falco squawked, forcing the vulpine's arms away from him. "Who am I, your girlfriend?"

"No, that's my job," Arcene spoke up from across the lobby, causing Fox to crank his head around to the hallway to the barracks and see her leaning up against the rather wide corridor. Fox instantly felt his face warm up as his eyes rested on her silvery frame, only covered by a pair of black cargo pants and a similarly colored tight tank top, complimenting her gorgeous looks better than ordinary words could describe. Even with the distance the vulpine had on her, he could still see her curves wrinkling the top of her shirt and the lack of coverage around her midsection, which was the main cause of his cheeks beginning to blaze.

Bill noticed his expression and nudged him playfully. "Go get her professor."

Fox growled in the back of his throat as he gave a particularly hard thump to the pit-bull, then after a quick goodbye to both pilots he trotted over to the vixen. Arcene crossed her arms and smirked as the vulpine kept inching closer, but right as she tried to speak Fox grabbed her and embraced her warmly.

"I missed you too Fox," Arcene giggled, wrapping her bare silvery arms around his neck. Fox intentionally wrapped his arms low around her, so that he could feel the luxurious fur on her body that was always hidden away by her usual uniform.

"What are you doing here?" Fox questioned in a low voice. "I thought you had training today."

"I do, but I got a break to come down here and tell you something you might want to hear."

"What's that?"

Arcene poked at his transmitter and grinned. "I got word that General Jaeger loves your reflector idea," she said in a smooth, silky sounding voice. "He wants you to do a few more modifications to it first before he can sell it to SD to get it mass-produced."

"Seriously?" Fox exclaimed, widening his eyes. "That's incredible!"

"I never got to see it," she admitted pitifully with puppy-dog-eyes, lowering her ears for good measure. Fox was never able to argue with that face. Ever.

"You want me to show you?"

"Please?" she yipped quietly, tugging on Fox's sleeve. "Oh, but not here. Come on."

Arcene practically dragged the tod by his lab coat as she traversed down the numerous hallways down to her intended destination. Fox could only let out a few sheepish chuckles as she kept yanking on his clothes to tell him to walk faster.

"What are you doing?"

"You said this can reflect laser fire?" she asked, opening the large iron door to one of the many firing ranges inside the HQ building.

"We never really tested it on that," Fox said nervously.

"Now's the time," the vixen instantly replied, dragging him into the room.

"Wait, Arcy, I don't think this is a good time to–"

"Professor McCloud!" a deep feminine voice cooed as Arcene shoved him into the light of the firing range locker room. The voice that spoke up resounded from the bench on the back wall, where a tan and black speckled lynx was sitting with her arms and legs crossed. Fox smiled and let out a nervous laugh.

"Hey Miyu," he spoke, watching the lynx readjust a rather long carbine rifle in her lap. ' _Why does everyone feel the need to call me that?'_ he thought to himself, just as he felt a sharp jab into his stomach that made him wheeze hoarsely.

Arcene gave a particularly hard elbow to the orange vulpine as she stepped in front of him. "Hey, what gives?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow at the feline. "Where did everyone else go?"

"They're in the range," Miyu answered, pointing a clawed digit at a soundproof iron door that separated the small locker room they were standing in from the large firing range. She stood back up and started examining the holographic scope of her carbine. "We got a new weapons shipment today, so they're having us test 'em out."

"Another weapons shipment?" Arcene asked in disbelief. "That's the second one this month!"

"Well, when you've got Foxie here working on all this tech, it's no wonder they keep upgrading."

"Actually, I don't work with firearms," Fox corrected. "I do, however, still work with weaponry, although I don't really consider this thing a wea–"

"Ah, you got another toy for me to test out?" Miyu said in an extremely seductive voice, one that Fox was amazed that Arcene didn't get up-in-arms about. Fox chuckled nervously once again and fidgeted with his sleeve.

"Well, it's not done yet," he answered. "The mechanics work, but I'm not sure if it's–"

"What is it?" the lynx interrupted yet again.

"It's some kind of energy shield," the silver vixen answered for him. "He told me it deflects laser fire."

"Bullshit," Miyu scoffed, inadvertently starting a challenge. "Show me then."

"Guys, it's not done yet," Fox pleaded, but he ended up finding himself in a surprisingly not uncommon challenge between two female soldiers.

"I will," Arcene answered, giving a friendly glare to the feline. "Come on Fox, show us what you did."

Fox didn't have an opportunity to reply as he was pushed through the iron door and into the massive metal firing range. The sounds of charged laser shots echoed and reverberated in the room, which made the vulpine's ears twitch, and as soon as Miyu shut the large iron door the gunfire instantly ceased. The first one to poke her head out of her station was a sandy brown fennec vixen with incredibly large ears. At the sight of Fox she let a warm, but forced smile surface, adjusting the white tank top she was wearing so that she could intentionally show off her toned stomach.

"Nice of you to drop by Fox," the sandy brown vixen said, removing the insulating headphones from her ears. The tone of voice she spoke with gave the allusion of her friendliness, but her body language would say otherwise, and that simple gesture put a sour taste on the tod's tongue right off the bat.

"You're here too Fara?" Fox asked, trying his best to visibly show the concern in his voice.

"Fay is too," she added, balling her gloved paw and knocking it against the wall separating her lane from another. Seconds later, the face of a pure white spaniel popped into the vulpine's view. She was clothed in the same set of apparel as the sand colored vixen and the lynx, that being a thin and small tank top and some navy blue cargo pants. She instantly squealed in delight as she recognized the vulpine in the lab coat.

"Ah! Fox!" she yipped, adjusting the bow in her curly white locks. "What are you doing here?"

"He's got something he needs to test for SD," Arcene piped in. "It's a brand new energy shield, and he's letting us test it with him."

"Forced against my will might I add," Fox remarked under his breath.

"Hey, you're a crack shot with that rifle of yours, eh Fara?" Miyu questioned, pointing at the blocky looking assault rifle balanced in the vixen's gloved paws. Fara glanced down at it, adjusted the sliding stock, and then gave a particularly sly smirk at the vulpine. Fox nearly pissed himself.

"You want me to shoot him?" she asked, licking her bottom lip as she primed the weapon; the sound of the charging weapon increasing her grin ever so slowly. "I was afraid you'd never ask."

"Guys, come on, you can't be serious," Fox complained.

"I wanna see this too!" Fay shouted in a bubbly voice, instantly bolting around to stand right next to the lynx. Miyu giggled again and poked at his transmitter.

"Come on Fox, go over there and turn it on. Fara won't get hit if that's what you're worried about."

"I'd be lying if I said that she was the only thing I cared about in this current time," Fox muttered, lowering his ears as he hesitantly made his way to the fennec's station. Fara gave him a particularly hard jab in the butt with the barrel of her weapon as he climbed over the protective counter, getting him to involuntarily let out an uncharacteristically sharp yip. All four of the females in the room giggled to each other as Fox dragged his feet across the gravel all the way down to the end of the firing range over one hundred feet back. Fara adjusted the holographic scope of her weapon before assuming a proper stance in front of the counter; shoulders square, eyes up, and the stock of the rifle pressed against her bare shoulder as she kept the barrel level with her paw.

"You better turn it on Fox, my fingers are getting twitchy," Fara cooed, caressing the trigger gently and longingly. Fox groaned loud enough so that his displeasure could echo throughout the firing range, then lifted his wrist up to his chest and pulled up the HUD. As soon as the pale blue hexagonal filed enveloped his frame with an audible screech, the fennec snickered to herself.

"Heh, if your _science_ doesn't work, then you've got nobody to blame but yourself," she muttered under her breath, inaudible to the rest of the room as she shifted her stance yet again. "Maybe next time you'll think twice before dumping the daughter of the head of Phoenix Industries, you shallow, uncaring, waste of–"

 ** _BANG_**

The blue laser sprung from the vixen's rifle, and within moments had reached the vulpine's energy shield. Fox shut his eyes as the loud ping resounded from his transmitter, and all he heard afterward was a high pitched yelp that didn't slip from his muzzle. Fox cringed as Fara's voice echoed in the firing range afterward.

"FUCK!" she shouted, then instantly dropped her rifle and covered her left shoulder. Fox immediately retracted his Reflector and sprinted through the range to get to her, while Fara crumpled to her knees and whimpered in agonized pain as both Arcene and Miyu dropped down to check on her.

"I thought you said it wouldn't hit her!" Fox growled at the lynx. Miyu instantly cupped her head in her paws as she stared wide-eyed at the vixen who was writhing in pain, guilt evident in her expression.

"Fara, I'm so sorry," Miyu instantly apologized, helping the fennec put pressure on her shoulder wound. "Are you alright?"

"NO!" she barked, nearly snarling at the orange vulpine. "That asshole made me shoot myself!"

"It wasn't my fault," Fox said shakily. "I didn't know the laser would come back and hit you."

"Don't you think you've lied enough to me?!" she snapped, letting her seething rage surface. She almost couldn't feel her shoulder wound because of the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

"Can you take her to the infirmary, Fay?" Arcene asked, gently lifting the injured vixen off of the cold cement floor.

"Of course," she replied with a worried expression, then gently wrapped the fennec's uninjured arm around her neck and coaxed her out of the firing range, much to the fennec's displeasure and discomfort. Once the steel door shut behind their tails, Fox hopped the counter and glared at the lynx.

"Thanks for that," he said as seriously as he could as he curled his eyebrows downward, displeasure painted onto his muzzle like a mask. "As if she wasn't pissed with me enough."

"I'm sorry Fox, I had no idea that was going to happen," Miyu tried to explain, but Fox uncharacteristically cut her off with a low growl.

"I tried to tell you, but you didn't listen, now did you?" he fired back, making the lynx's ears fold behind her head. She had never seen the vulpine so upset before, and it honestly frightened her because he was usually calm and caring in ordinary situations. His anger was evident, albeit restrained, but it really did worry the feline because she didn't know what he would try and do next in his current state.

"Fox, seriously, I'm so sorry," she whimpered, tucking her tail in between her legs. "I know you and Fara aren't on level grounds ever since you broke up with her last month, and I know I shouldn't have instigated this, but I thought it would've been a good way for her to let out a bit of her frustration without hurting you. Maybe try to get you guys on even terms faster. I was only trying to help."

Fox exhaled and let his head hang low. "I understand… Sorry for snapping at you… I was just making such good headway with getting her back on my good side again, but… guess I gotta start from scratch again."

"I'll go talk to her again and explain that this was my fault," she said, slowly backing towards the door. "Really Fox, I'm sorry I did this to you."

"It's fine," he said absentmindedly. "I really appreciate you going to talk to her though. Thanks."

"It's the least I can do," Miyu said before slipping out of the room. Fox sighed again and found a seat on the bench in the back of the room, and within moments Arcene was right by his side.

"Fara is still mad at you?" she asked, wedging herself under the vulpine's arm.

"Yeah," he answered tersely, letting her rest her head on his chest. "She didn't take the breakup last month all that well."

"What happened?"

"We just got in another fight," Fox answered with a hint of sadness in his voice. "Afterwards I told her I was tired of fighting with her, and she took that the wrong way and dumped me on the spot. She claims _I_ dumped _her_ , but that's a Phoenix daughter for you; always blaming things on others to make yourself seem better."

"I'm sorry Fox," she said reassuringly. "I could tell you really took time to try and love her just like me. All that effort you put towards her went to waste."

"Yeah, I tried, but it just didn't work. She was just too jealous of you."

"Hey, that's what you get for trying to see too many people at once," she said rather playfully, giving him a reassuring nudge.

"I'm just doing what our species is known for," Fox answered, finally grinning for the first time in a while. "You know that monogamy isn't male vulpine nature. My father tried to get a second mate before he was killed. My father told me that even my grandfather had more than one wife too. I know of a lot of vulps enlisted in the force that are seeing multiple women, so it's not uncommon or looked down upon."

"I know," Arcene giggled, nuzzling closer to his chest. "And you… you just have such a big heart that you can't just pour it all into me. Honestly, it warms my heart to see you try and reach out to others that don't have anyone at their side, like I was before I met you."

"I love you too Arcy," Fox said with a smile, sneaking in a quick kiss on her forehead. "And believe me, I'll never forget you… ever. You will always be here," he pointed at his heart. "You'll always be my first love, no matter who else comes into our lives."

Arcene let out a relatively loud purr as Fox embraced her head and held it warmly, stroking her cheeks with tenderness and compassion. She relished in his warmth and love for a few extra seconds before she spoke again.

"You think we should check up on Fara?"

"Wouldn't hurt," Fox admitted, picking himself off the bench. "Maybe afterward you can come watch me fix up the Reflector?"

"I dunno Fox, I might just distract you," she admitted lowering her ears.

"It would be a distraction to me if you weren't there," Fox said confidently, outstretching his arm. Arcene let out a lighthearted giggle as she grasped the vulpine's arm tightly and followed him out of the firing range.

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

"Such a beautiful sight," Joel muttered to himself, inching closer and closer to the absolutely massive window that stretched from the floor to the ceiling of the main bridge. All he could see was stars. Stars for miles and miles. Stars that were not concealed by clouds or light pollution, but bright, unbounded, and unrestricted stars, shining into the window of the _USS_ _Great Fox_. He could only dream of seeing this sight before, but now his dream of interstellar travel was finally a reality.

"Ain't it?" Erik piped in, startling the Lieutenant a bit. Before Joel could question the larger man, he was quickly back to speaking.

"To think these bastards we're about to take out can travel like this effortlessly," Erik muttered, crossing his arms as he stared out of the same window, gazing out at a pure black canvas dotted by various colored dots and formations. "They take this shit for granted."

"I never really thought of that," Joel admitted. "When you think about it, they could've had this technology for decades… _centuries_ even… They got used to stuff like this, while we're still improving kinetic weaponry."

"True," Erik grunted, then cracked his knuckles loudly. "But the fact that they attacked us, knowing good and well that we weren't as developed as they were still pisses me off. They slaughtered everyone they could in the short week they showed their ugly muzzles, then leave us to clean up the damage… Anyone with _any_ sense of moral would have at least _attempted_ to show a bit of sympathy after they just tried to shove an entire county under the rug."

Joel growled to himself and glanced at his watch. "They deserve every bit of the hell we're gonna put them through. They want to hit us and run away? We'll hit 'em back, and this time we'll stay to finish the job we started. They won't be able to run away from us this time."

"You sound like your dad, Joel," Charlie remarked, glancing down at the numerous screens lining the bridge's main control deck. Joel snickered to himself and inched away from the large window.

"How far out are we Charlie?"

"Not far at all," he answered. "In fact… I think we're close enough to see the planet from here."

Joel turned his head to the other window, then felt all of the air leave his lungs as he saw a brilliant view of the planet in question. Its vibrant whites, sky blues, and silvery grays melted together and produced a beautiful swirling masterpiece in the shape of a planet. However, Joel stared at it with hesitance, as it looked absolutely frigid considering the colors and how far away they were from the system's main star.

"Damn," Eliot piped in. "Stunning view."

"Looks cold," Erik muttered. "You sure they gave us enough equipment to survive against that?"

"I trust my father," Joel replied. "He planned this attack for years. I'm sure he gave us more than enough equipment to tackle this climate."

"I sure hope you're right," Erik remarked.

"And the jammers are working, right?" Eliot asked.

"Should be," Joel answered. "We're under the radar right now. We won't be able to be tracked so long as our ship stays online."

"Oh, hey, Eliot," Charlie awkwardly spoke up. "Can you run down to everyone's quarters and tell them to buckle down? We're about to enter the atmosphere."

"Alright," the dark haired man grunted, then slipped out of the main bridge with Stryker closely pursuing. Joel snickered again once the bridge door shut behind the massive shepherd's tail.

"Was it a good move for Eliot to bring him along?" he asked.

"Eh, I'm not sure," Erik answered with hesitance, scratching the back of his neck. "Think those dogs will be afraid of _our_ dog?"

"Hell yeah," Joel smiled, pumping his fist in the air. "Stryker's one badass canine. I've got no worries when it comes time to deploy–"

"Guys?" Charlie interrupted with a worried inflection.

"What Charlie?" Erik questioned.

"We've got company," he said in that same tone, staring at his radar screen with eyes wide.

"Fuck," Joel blurted out, jumping over a low guardrail and instantly rushing up alongside the specialist. "How many?"

"Three," Charlie answered, still practically choking on his words in fear. "Looks like two… wait… what are those? Those don't look like Cornerian ships."

"Ngh, you're right, they don't," Joel grumbled, glancing out of the large window and taking in the sight of the three warships in formation a long way's away from their current location, but it still sent a shiver down the bearded man's spine as he studied the ships intriguing construction. "What the hell are we gonna do?"

"I don't know, _commander_ ," Charlie retorted. "What should we do?"

"Yeah, you're the commander here Joel," Erik added.

"Nobody told me there would be a patrol unit around the damn planet, guys," Joel snapped. "I don't know how we're gonna get around them."

"Maybe they'll let us around if we just keep course," Charlie suggested. "Ya know, if we don't fire at them maybe they'll leave us alone."

"Are you insane?" Erik growled. "As soon as we try and get any closer they'll open fire. We need to change course."

"If we change course we'll be thousands of miles away from the military base," Joel remarked, scratching his beard. "But if we keep course they'll spot us and say that an unauthorized ship landed without clearance, or worse. We're fucked either way."

"Well, Joel, you realize what we have to do now, right?" Erik questioned.

"I'm not opening fire on those ships," Lieutenant McClellan responded instantly.

"What choice do we have Joel?" Erik snapped. "We can't let them tell their HQ that we're here. We need to take them out."

"They _do_ look weaker than Cornerian ships," Charlie piped in. "We could take them."

"Guys, I'm not shooting at those cruisers," Joel argued.

"We're out of options," Erik said softly, trying to relax his commander about the situation. "Charlie says we can take 'em, and I believe him. There's only three small ships. Guaranteed the weapons aboard our ship can rip those ships to shreds."

"Erik's right," Charlie added. "This is our only option."

Joes hummed and curled his lips into his mouth, then gave a slight nod. "Alright. Lock on to them Charlie. On my word."

Charlie obliged and did what he could with the limited knowledge he had. He managed to activate all the weapons, as well as the energy shields, and before he even knew it he had locked the numerous weapons onto the first cruiser in formation.

"Ready?"

Joel nodded again. "Here goes nothing. Take 'em out."

Without a moment of hesitation, a broad spectrum of numerous colors of lasers lanced out of the Destroyer and impacted the enemy ship. Only, what happed was the energy shields of the enemy cruiser gobbled up the lasers launched at it like the shields hadn't eaten in weeks, making Joel's heart practically stop.

"What happened?"

"I-I-I don't know," Charlie stuttered. "They're shields must be more powerful than I–"

Charlie and the other two soldiers in the room were forcefully thrown to the ground as the enemy ships took that failed offensive attempt as a threat, and commenced their own fire. However, the lasers being shot from two of the three cruisers were a silvery green color, and what was even more disheartening was that they just phased through the shields that enveloped the Destroyer like they weren't even there; each shot impaling the warship like bullets shooting through paper.

"Shit!" Joel barked. "Charlie, get us out of here!"

"Where the fuck do you want me to go Joel?!" Charlie snapped back. "I can't do anything when we've got three warships on our asses!"

"Just do something–"

 ** _BOOM_**

A loud, ear-splitting explosion tore through the ship as one of the lasers impacted one of the main thrusters of the Destroyer, detonating it instantly. That explosion caused Joel to get launched backwards over the guardrail and hit the floor with so much force that he couldn't see straight afterwards. Loud alert sirens started blaring as another one of the silvery green lasers impaled the hull and left a hole as big around as a tractor's wheel. Erik cursed loudly, but it was still drowned out by the alert siren and the sounds of explosions tearing through the Destroyer.

"We're not gonna hold out much longer!" Erik bellowed. "Get us to the fuckin' surface Charlie!"

"I'm _TRYING_!" he shouted back, practically laying on the control panel to keep balance. "Their lasers killed our thrusters! We're stuck!"

Erik managed to look out of the window towards the cruisers, then felt his heart drop into his stomach as he saw one last projectile slowly make its way towards their ship. He instantly grabbed onto the railing and held on with a vice grip as the projectile inched closer.

"Buckle the fuck down!"

 ** _BANG_**

A colossal explosion rocked the entire Destroyer, but what caught the soldiers on the bridge off guard was that the projectile had more forcing power than it did destructing power. Basically, the enemy warship launched one last projectile to send the human's Destroyer less-than-comfortably gliding towards the surface of the snowball planet. With the lack of propulsion the human ship had, they could only sit and watch their ship plummet towards Fichina, much to their dismay and, surprisingly, relief.

"At least they stopped attacking," Erik muttered after the alert sirens stopped blaring.

"We're on target with landing on Fichina too," Charlie added. "Looks like those ships didn't want to finish the job."

"But… why?" Joel asked, standing up off the ground while rubbing his head.

"Beats me," Erik grunted, dusting his own clothes off. "They didn't look like Cornerian ships. Obviously whoever was behind the wheel of those ships realized we stopped attacking them after that first shot, then just gave up after they crippled our ship."

"Why didn't they just finish us off?"

"I wish I knew," Erik grumbled. "Obviously whoever that was wasn't Cornerian, 'cause we all know a Cornerian commanded ship would've finished us."

Joel growled and kicked at the railing. "And so much for our secretive arrival," he mumbled bitterly. "They've probably contacted every single person on the surface, and as soon as we land those fuckin' dogs will capture us."

"The only way to know for sure is to just sit and wait," Charlie said softly. "Luckily that ship didn't hit our ACS thrusters, so we'll be able to land on the surface without any problems. We'll go from there, right Joel?"

"That's all we can do," he admitted, letting his arms go limp. "You keep watching out Charlie. Make sure our landfall goes as smoothly as it can. I'm gonna go check on our crew."

Joel slipped out of the main bridge and slowly made his way down the hallway towards the living quarters. What disheartened the lieutenant was that some of the airlocks that prevented the entire hull of the ship from losing all of its oxygen if there was a puncture in the hull, and that in and of itself wasn't bad, it was just that numerous living quarters were on the other side of that airlock. He cursed to himself as he picked up his pace, but was relieved to see that one of the living quarters he took particular interest in looked perfectly fine. He didn't bother knocking as he barged in, and let out a breath of relief as he saw both soldiers inside picture perfect.

"You two alright?" he asked, transitioning his gaze back and forth between a tall and slim female soldier with brilliantly flowing brunette hair, and a shorter, but more muscular curly haired blonde male. He instantly made his way towards the female after both of them gave nods of approval.

"I'm okay Joel," she assured as he sat down on her bedside. Jordan Newgarden was one of the select few that were drafted over to Joel's recon team, and Joel did not have one complaint about it. He couldn't deny that she was absolutely beautiful, and her skill in combat only increased his feelings towards her. And for Jordan, she felt the same way towards her commander on this mission.

"What happened?" the other soldier asked. Samuel Hinchcliffe, another one of the soldiers drafted into the lieutenant's team, was much like Erik in personality. He was strong in hand to hand combat, but sometimes he let that power go to his head. Albeit huge at six foot six, he is rather timid when it comes to combat, and even more so this time around with their current mission.

"We just got into a skirmish with a patrol route," he answered in the most reassuring voice he could muster. "Punctured our hull, and we lost a few soldiers too, but our ship is okay. We're gonna land on the surface soon."

"Oh boy," Samuel remarked sarcastically, letting his head fall back on his pillow.

"This is where things start to get interesting, right Joel?" Jordan asked sweetly. The lieutenant nodded in approval and wrapped his arm around the female.

"Very," he answered, assuring her just by his touch. "Just promise me you'll be careful when we get out there, okay? I don't want to lose anyone, especially you."

Jordan blushed and stifled a giggle, causing Samuel to groan loudly and hold his hands over his face.

"Alright," he moaned impatiently. "Enough of the fluffy shit. You two act like that down there and you'll be the first ones in a body bag."

"You don't watch it and you will too," Joel retorted with a smirk. He waited for the blonde man's groaning to subside before he continued to affectionately rub the brown haired soldier's back and shoulder.

"You watch my ass, and I'll watch yours," Joel said with a smile. "We got a deal, babe?"

"I'll do more than just watch it," Jordan cooed, flipping her hair dramatically.

"That'll have to wait until we set up shop," Joel snickered back. "That a deal?"

"Deal," she smiled, giving another warm embrace to the lieutenant. "Thanks."

"Anytime," he said right back, then after the ship started slowly rocking and lurching he let out an impatient groan and stormed out of her quarters. A few seconds later, she could hear his bellowing voice echo in the hallway, causing her to erupt into laughter.

"God dammit Charlie if you don't stabilize this motherfucker I'm gonna have your ass on a platter, do you understand?!"

* * *

 _There's nothing simple when it comes to you and I  
Always something in this everchanging life  
And it probably always will  
Now that time is getting harder to come by  
The same arguments are always on our mind  
We've killed this slowly fading light_

 _Now the lines are drawn  
Is this feeling gone?  
The best parts of this have come and gone  
And now that is all this is  
With the reasons clear  
We'll spend another year  
Without direction, full of fear  
But now things will be different_

 _*Rise Against – Everchanging*_


	5. In the Belly of a Shark

**A/N: Well, back when I uploaded chapter 15 of First Contact, I thought I'd never be able to exceed the word count of that chapter. Here I am, what, three months later, and I actually broke that milestone. I present to you guys, the longest chapter I have ever written at just over 12K words. I'm sorry in advance.**

 **Technically I didn't write it all. Again, WhiteWolf has helped with this story *immensely*, and I have to give credit where credit is due. Hell, I don't know what I would be doing if he didn't come up with this idea. Give him some praise; he's the genius behind this; I'm just a scribe. ;)**

 **There are a few viewer created characters in here as well, and I honestly forgot who sent them in so I'll just say if you see your character in here, thanks for letting me use him/her. You guys are great!**

 **Regardless, hope you guys enjoy the longest update ever. You guys haven't disappointed with feedback yet, so keep that train going! See you guys next update! From both WhiteWolf and I, we hope you enjoy this update, and we'd like to hear from everyone on it as well. Take care fellas!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: In the Belly of a Shark**

* * *

Over the past half an hour or so, Fox had gotten used to the less-than-distracting weight that had found itself on his right shoulder as he continued to try and raise the measurements and specifications of his new Reflector. After another five minutes of silence other than the tapping of his keyboard and the faint sounds of other engineers and scientists talking and working, the weight on his shoulder let out a low and blasé sigh.

"Are you close to being done yet, Fox?"

"I'm almost done Arcy," Fox unfocusedly mumbled back.

"I still have no idea how you can sit here and do this for hours on end," she continued, intentionally letting air out of her nose to rustle the vulpine's neck fur. Fox scrunched his neck in as a result, causing Arcene to giggle slightly.

"I've done it for so long that it really doesn't bother me," Fox replied, proportionately raising a few numbers on his screen. "Once you get used to it, it's not all that bad. Just ask that old vulp over there."

"Very funny Fox," Vince grumbled humorously. "I'm not _that_ old yet, and I'm still learning new things every day."

"Sure," Fox sneered back, then tilted his head backwards so that he could rub his cheek against the vixen's, making her purr comfortably. The tod smiled and planted a tender kiss on the side of her muzzle, provoking even more and somewhat louder purring; loud enough for the arctic fox to hear.

"Would you stop seducing your girl and get your tail over here and help me, Fox?"

"I was not seducing her," Fox responded impatiently, picking himself out of his chair. "Nothing wrong with me letting her– Woah…"

Fox gapped at the white vulpine's screen contents… or, rather, lack thereof. One quick glance at the top right corner of his screen let him know that he was trying to pull up a satellite image of the LHC's transportation and trade map, but what was coming back was a very pixelated static screen as if someone wrongly repositioned the antenna to an old TV set.

"Satellite imagery is down," Vince said in a low, almost inaudible whisper. "All of it… It's strange… We were broadcasting just fine five minutes ago."

"Huh," Fox grunted, swiping his chair from his station and rolling up alongside the other fox. "Do you know what's causing it?"

"Tough to say," Vince replied. "Might just be standard issues. I might be able to get them back online if I can get the code to modify the software. Military satellites are locked to us, and I just need to get General Jaeger to authorize modifications. Could be a simple glitch in the code I can fix."

"That's good," Fox said in relief, but was puzzled when Vince held up his transmitter and only stared at it confusedly.

"Oh… kay…" Vince said in complete mystification. "Comms are… down…? Huh?"

"Comms are down too?"

"Yeah…" he answered slowly. "Satellites _and_ comms? This never happens… not unless there's something wrong."

"You want me to get General Jaeger, Vince?" Arcene asked.

"Yes; thank you Arcene," he replied with a grin, prompting the silver vixen to trot out of the lab. Vince hummed as he narrowed his eyes and started chewing at his left paw again.

Throughout the next five minutes, Vince attempted to use any conventional means of bringing the satellite imagery back online, without any of them meriting a positive outcome. Fox tried his own means as well, but they were just as unsuccessful as the arctic fox's previous attempts. Vince was starting to get frustrated as a result, and it wouldn't be long before he started breaking skin.

"What the hell?" Vince muttered under his breath. "This… this can't be a simple glitch…"

"What're you saying?" Fox questioned.

"Something, or some _one_ is causing our modules to glitch out," Vince remarked bitterly, blowing a few strands of fur out of his mouth he had accidently extracted from his left paw. "Look at the fluctuating levels of the strength of this interference. Something like this can't be a glitch. This is _professional_ work."

"Who would be messing with our satellites?"

"Who else Fox?" Vince snapped somewhat scornfully, obviously stressed and flustered. "The Verians are blinding us to the outside, and before we even know it we're gonna get swarmed by warships."

"Come on Vince, you know that won't ever happen," Fox retorted. "There's something we're not seeing here."

"Yeah, the satellites."

"Well I know _that_ ," Fox scoffed with the attempted sarcasm Vince just blew at him. "I'm talking about this _interference_ you're talking about. Verians wouldn't kill sats and comms because it's not how they fight. They would take advantage of misfortunes such as unfavorable weather conditions or technological hindrances, but they won't be the _cause_ of those things."

All Vince did was grunt in response.

"It might just be some heavy sunspot interference," Fox said calmly. "You know Solar can be a pain in the ass when it acts up. Today could be a more active day for it, so that might be messing with our systems. This intentional interference explanation is a bit far-fetched."

Vince opened his muzzle, but the sound of the lab door hissing open caused him to stop in his tracks. He turned to face the door and found himself gazing at a brilliant crimson red Cornerian General's uniform worn by Corneria's recently appointed wolf-dog General Wes Jaeger. Even though he was the same age as Vince, Wes' gray tinged fur was much more noticeable and defined than before, but he still kept his muscular and toned frame very well. He had come to enjoy his position as head of the CDF, and although in an earlier time in his life he would've let that power get to his head, he took his position to heart, and kept his authority to a minimum. In fact, as he slowly made his way into the lab, he was already having a conversation with the sliver vixen that was sent to retrieve him, and was smiling and chuckling too, as uncharacteristic as is was for him to do so.

"It's true sir," Arcene giggled, pivoting her body to completely face the general as she had to resort to walking backwards to keep up with him. "The doctors said that if I would've hit him any harder I would've completely broken his wrist."

"Wow, pretty strong," Wes said in his unmistakable accented voice. "Who was your sparring partner?"

"Lieutenant Kassian," Arcene answered. "Lead Husky pilot."

"No shit," Wes laughed in disbelief. "That's impressive. Kass is one hell of a soldier. You sure you don't want to go into actual combat?"

"Nah, that was just a fluke victory for me, sir," she answered. "I wouldn't be able to do that again. Plus, I think I'm better at medical procedures than actual combat."

"Whatever you can excel at is fine with me," Wes smiled, then at the sight of the orange vulpine he grinned even larger. "Hey Fox. How's the lab life goin' for ya?"

Fox absolutely loved how informal and friendly this general was compared to Pepper. The bloodhound was always formal wherever he went, while the wolf-dog made it a point to be as caring and friendly as he could be. He worked hard to get this position, so why would he squander it by being a royal asshole to his soldiers?

"Well, we've got something wrong sir," Fox replied tersely, pointing at the screen Vince was intently staring at. "Something's screwing with our satellite communications."

Wes instantly donned a confused expression as he raised one of his gray tinged eyebrows and inched closer to where the two vulpines were stationed. "How so?"

"I can't get a signal," Vince answered, aimlessly tapping at his holographic screen. "Imagery is down, and I can't get a single comm line to work. It's like we're locked out of our own equipment. The fluctuating power levels of whatever is causing our modules to glitch out is another thing that's confusing."

"Did you try and override the signal?" the hybrid suggested.

"I've tried everything, sir," he admitted, folding his ears back. "Nothing's working."

"Are we being hacked?" Wes asked with a sense of urgency.

"Fox and I have already deduced that it can't be Verian involvement if that's what you're implying sir," Vince instantly replied, drumming his clawed digits on the table. "We're speculating it's radiation interference from Solar, considering how much this static's intensity has been bouncing around. That's the only logical reason for our equipment malfunctioning like this."

"Can you shut the modules off?" the general questioned.

"I can't even do _that_ , sir," Vince said, shrugging his shoulders in complete befuddlement. "I'm completely locked out of the satellites."

Wes growled to himself quietly and inched his gray bearded muzzle towards the screen. "Alright… I didn't want to have to do this, but it's leaving me no choice."

General Jaeger gently pushed Vince's chair away from his lab station, then bent over and took over the controls. Vince picked himself out of the seat and slipped alongside of him, carefully watching the hybrid enter a string of code into the main server that even he himself had never seen before.

"Sir, what are–"

"Manual override," Wes grunted. "Shutting the entire system off from the source. I'm doing this just in case we are actually getting hacked, and if we are I'm gonna kill the system before anyone actually gets a hold of any information."

"I've tried that sir, but nothing seems to be–" Vince instantly stopped once his entire station seemed to just fall over and die as soon as Wes finished his job. Wes chuckled and straightened himself out, then cracked his knuckles loudly as he smirked at the vulpine scientist.

"You were trying to kill the unresponsive module," Wes corrected, patting the arctic fox's shoulder. "I disengaged the entire system. We'll try and do a reboot in about ten minutes, after I talk to the PM about this; 'cause knowing him he'll flip shit if nobody tells him."

"Sounds good, sir," Vince said, still dumfounded that the wolf-dog knew something that he didn't. Wes transitioned his gaze to Fox and poked at the machines lining Vince's desk.

"Ten minutes, Fox," Wes repeated. "Make sure the server and the satellite modules are back online in ten minutes."

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, Vince," Wes suddenly spoke up right as the fox tried to sit back down. "I'll need another person to explain this to Parliament, preferably a scientist. Can you please come with me?"

"Sure thing sir," Vince obliged, then followed the larger hybrid out of the lab space. Once the lab door shut, Fox let out a groan and let his head hang backwards on the headrest of his chair, causing Arcene to cock her head.

"Aww, what's wrong Foxie?" she asked softly, coming up behind him and driving her thumbs into his shoulders, then once she started massaging the tense muscles Fox let out a breathy, pleasured sigh.

"Vince was supposed to help me with this damn thing," Fox moaned, letting the vixen's paws work wonders on his shoulders.

"He's not the only one," Arcene remarked. "Does anyone else know how to work those… numbers…?"

"Ah, you're right," he grunted, sitting up in his chair. He cupped his paws around his muzzle and glanced over at a blonde wolf on the other side of the lab space. "Hey! Austin! Can you spare a moment or two?"

"Alright," the voice replied, followed by the sound of a slamming iron cabinet drawer. A few seconds later, a tall and slim blonde wolf with a pair of goggles over his forehead wound the corner and stepped up to the vulpine's station. "What'cha need Fox?"

"Goggles, Austin," Fox blurted out, not looking away from his screens. Austin chuckled sheepishly and pulled the goggles in question off of his forehead, then put his paw over the back of Fox's chair and inched closer to his screen.

"Coding troubles?" the lupine asked.

"It's for the Reflector," Fox added. "General Jaeger wants me to fix up the specs. I don't know how to increase them more than I already have without overloading the power cells of the transmitter."

"As a matter of fact, I've got just the thing," Austin said with a smile before trotting back to his station. A few moments later, the lupine came back with a small black briefcase with his initials scratched into the top lid.

"I've been looking for an opportunity to show these off for quite a long time," he remarked as he unlocked the case. He flipped open the top lid, revealing about a dozen different sized cylindrical tubes, each one glowing in a different neon color. Fox's jaw nearly dropped in awe.

"Okay, what did Vince tell you about working with radioactive substances," Fox remarked tauntingly.

"These aren't any more radioactive than you being a woman," Austin laughed, grabbing a pair of small tweezers and picking one tube out that glowed in a brilliant sky blue color. "These are external power sources that run on natural chemical reactions with the substances in the cylinders. Each one has a different level of power they exert, and this one here should exert enough energy to power your reflector and all of your transmitter's instruments effortlessly."

"Damn, this is… incredible," Fox chuckled breathily. "Are you sure I can use this?"

"Please, I want you to use it," he assured, showcasing yet another smile. "Something like this will work with your reflector better than anything I could ever come up with. I'd be honored if you could put these to good use."

"Thanks so much," Fox said thoughtfully, watching Austin put the power cell back into the case.

"And I know what you're about to ask, and trust me, these things won't run out of power," the lupine explained. "If you're not getting enough power, just give it a little shake, and it should be good as new."

"Damn, thanks!" Fox exclaimed. Austin gave one last explanation of the cells before packing up and trotting back to his station. Fox immediately exited out of his programming software and crossed his legs as he turned to face the silver vixen.

"Well, that solves _that_ issue," Arcene giggled. "And we've still got… six more minutes before you have to restart the servers."

"Making good time," Fox grinned.

"I'll say," she agreed before spinning around in her chair. Fox chuckled at her silliness for a few seconds before she finally came to a stop and started talking again. "Do you have anything else to work on?"

"Well, I did actually have something in the works until Fara stole my damn files," Fox said bitterly, curling his eyebrows down. Arcene widened her eyes and wheeled closer to him.

"Wait, what?"

Fox sighed and pawed at his forehead. "A few months ago, I drew up some plans for a brand new warship. A Battlecruiser class ship – the first one of its class. It would've been the greatest ship in commission, even better than my father's custom-made dreadnaught when it was still soaring the skies, but _she_ stole my blueprints after she broke up with me and gave it to her _daddy_ at Phoenix Industries."

"That little bitch," Arcene growled.

"Easy Arcy," Fox pleaded, grabbing her clenched fists.

"No, Fox, that's really upsetting," she argued. "You had a brand new ship drawn up, and she swipes it and claims it as her own. You should get back at her for that."

"I can't reclaim the blueprints unless I can give proof that I was the one that created them," Fox explained with lowered ears. "I never signed my name on them because I wasn't done with the prints yet."

"Well, you can prove it because they–"

"No, Arcy, I've already lost ownership of her," Fox interrupted sadly. "Phoenix Industries have already started work on the ship. They're only a week away from completing her too."

"I'm sorry Fox," she said softly, rubbing at Fox's leg.

"She was beautiful," Fox mumbled, beginning his reminiscing of the cruiser he had drawn up. "Massive, _massive_ ship. Easily ten times bigger than the ordinary Destroyers. It had ten separate hangars, held almost one hundred fighters and easily five thousand soldiers. And the kicker is it would be extremely cheap and easy to create too. It would've been the CDF's flagship model, yet I got it stolen from right underneath me, and now Phoenix Industries is gonna have the greatest ship on the market."

"Wow, it… sounds amazing," she admitted.

"Yeah, well, when you see the Battlecruiser _Phoenix_ deployed for battle, just know that she's _my_ ship. _I_ created that cruiser. It hurts to be that close in developing the next greatest thing, then having it stolen right from underneath you."

"But you have the Reflector though," Arcene remarked. "That could be the next big thing."

"Yeah," Fox finally smiled. "I guess you're right."

Arcene giggled and abandoned her seat so that she could sit on Fox's lap, then positioned herself so that she could rest her head on Fox's shoulder comfortably. As soon as she started purring, the orange vulpine grabbed her paw and held it tightly.

"You're pitiful," he said tauntingly, rubbing his nose in around her soft vulpine ear that was sticking into his face. "You'd do anything to get to cuddle with me."

"Don't act like you don't love it," Arcene cooed confidently, twitching her ears as Fox continued to poke his nose around them.

"Are you kidding?" Fox chuckled, wrapping his arms around her to draw her even closer. "I love it. You're never _this_ calm around me. I love being able to sit here comfortably with someone like you in my arms."

"I just love being here with you," Arcene said warmly, picking her head up just enough to give a sweet kiss on Fox's cheek.

"I love you too Arcy," Fox replied, giving his own kiss to the vixen. Arcene gave faint moans of pleasure and approval, setting off a chain reaction of rather inappropriate gestures for the current situation between the two foxes. Luckily they were alone behind closed doors, otherwise there would have been some consequences the couple would have had to deal with.

One excessively long, passionate session of affection later, after both foxes had regained their breath, Arcene glanced over at his consoles and stifled a giggle, making Fox's eyes shoot wide open.

"Aren't you supposed to–"

"Oh fuck!" Fox barked, instantly bolting out of his seat and rushing over to his station, furiously typing into the machine to bring the systems back online. Arcene let out a very taunting laugh as she folded her arms and watched the vulpine work.

"What would you do without me?"

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Commandant Talen's morning was a relatively decent one considering the circumstances; the usual routine of waking up, giving his wife attention if she were there, showering, eating, and donning his usual Verian Guardian Corps uniform for his daily duties and rounds had become monotonous over the past few months. However, he was in for a rude awakening as soon as he started checking his messages.

His duties as of late were constantly and consistently piling up with complaints of CDF harassment from workers at the C-12 Asteroid mines ever since they were reopened after the Cornerian blockade was finally removed. While the CDF hadn't fired on any of their unshielded transports – thankfully – they still saw the need to harass them as they went to deliver the minerals and ores to the planets that ordered them, as strange and unnecessary as it sounded. Hell, all of Veria's customers that ordered the minerals were from the LHC, those being colonies on other planets that were lacking in the materials they requested. These shipments were the "rare" minerals and metals Corneria required to produce seventy-five percent of their technology, despite it being a common resource for Veria. It was Talen's painstaking duty as Commandant to resolve these issues within the boundaries of Veria's laws and set protocol.

Scrolling though the various reports on his datapad as he sipped his java juice, the rather large copper dragon enjoyed his first calm and uneventful morning in quite a long time, right up until he stopped at one particular report and nearly gagged. It was from the Verian Destroyer _Sentinel_ group that were in pursuit of Veria's most wanted terrorist, Aeon Darkon – who happened to be the ruler of one of the five major houses of Veris Alpha; the most bloodthirsty and dangerous house of all of them at that. The report stated that they tailed Aeon to Fichina and lost sight of his ship… then the _Sentinel_ group engaged by what appeared to be a newer model transport ship of the CDF, with the details of the ship in question almost making Talen throw up what little food he had just ingested.

Fighting with himself to quickly scarf down his breakfast, he swiftly threw on the rest of his uniform afterwards and headed out the door of his wing of the Sky Haven Manor in Central Zenith, setting his destination for the Royal wing in hopes that he can catch the king before he made his daily fight.

"Fuck my morning," he swore, haphazardly tossing his drink into the waste basket near the front door of his office before locking the door behind his tail.

 **\/~~◊~~\/**

"Yes I know, Mr. Monroe," a gruff baritone voice sounded through the office, complimented by the sound of scratching fur. "But it's not like I can just order my ships to fire on the CDF and expect them not to react… especially if they didn't fire first. It's sticks and stones Senator."

"And I completely understand that, your majesty," Senator Monroe replied concernedly, trying to withhold his emotions. "It's just that Parliament is cracking down on us… Muzzin tried to accuse us of "colluding with the enemy" just because we have a trade agreement with the Verians that's basically keeping our population alive. Things just keeps getting worse Xiphos."

The golden dragon just ran a few claws through his luxurious mane and sighed. "I know Senator… Alright, I'll talk to Commandant Talen about adding some more protection for the supply transports to try and dissuade the CFD's Destroyers from potentially harassing them. I think the fleet can spare a few more Destroyers, just to ensure that your shipments arrive on time and unscathed."

"Papetoon would be grateful as always Xiphos," the sandy feline's face on screen smiled gently. King Xiphos could see the relief in his expression, which always made his job a bit easier.

"Just because Corneria won't get its act together doesn't mean I'll let your people die of thirst," the king assured, clenching his fists off-screen. "We'll keep sending the materials for the moisture extractors and purifiers, no matter what Corneria tries to do. If Corneria won't support you, then it's my duty to ensure that you and you're people are alive and well. Speaking of that, how's Sara?"

"Not well," Monroe replied sadly. "Her illness is getting worse and doctors here can't do any more for her. I know you can't send anybody without Corneria thinking that you're invading us, but… I just don't know what else to do anymore… She's my little girl, your majesty… I-I've already lost my wife, I can't lose her too."

Xiphos nodded in understanding, as he knew the pain a parent goes through when they lose a child all too well. "I'll see if Izalia can send a full regimen of Zolonol with the next shipment… We may not be able to aid directly, but we can at least do this to help you out. I know how much your family means to you Senator."

Senator Monroe let out a very strange sounding, yet involuntary squeak of relief and nearly exploded in tears. "Thank you Xiphos… I-I-I don't know how to make this up to you."

"Don't thank me yet, your daughter still has to get better," the king smirked. "As for making it up, can I expect you and your daughter here for the annual Archball Tournament next year?"

"Of course, your majesty!" Monroe instantly answered, letting a large smile surface in the midst of countless tears. "This was really productive. I wish I could speak with you more, but I have my own paperwork to deal with. It's been a pleasure speaking with you."

"You as well my friend," Xiphos replied right before the screen went dark and was replaced by a desktop dotted with several icons. He relaxed back into his armchair and glanced at his datapad, reading over the reports and complaints to his kingdom. He was getting more and more upset with every complaint he read, and just when he was about to give up in reading all of the complaints his door chimed.

"Commandant Talen Falx to see you my lord," the computerized voice spoke.

"Send him in," he replied tersely, not looking up from his tablets. After tapping a few of them and making a few requests to his wife in attempts to keep his promise to the Senator, the aforementioned copper dragon burst through the door, panting from exertion and lack of breath. Even with the distance the king had on him, he could still see a bit of sweat permeating his uniform.

"Did you hear?!" Talen shouted, his uncharacteristically shrilled voice sending waves of pain through the king's head.

"Hear what?" Xiphos questioned tiredly, crossing his legs in his chair. "I just got off the link with Senator Monroe of Papetoon. His daughter isn't doing all that well, so–"

"The _Sentinel_ was fired upon!" Talen blurted out, nearly causing the elder dragon to drop the pad in his claws.

"Who!?" the king boomed, nearly toppling his chair after standing up from it so suddenly and so violently.

The Commandant just shook his head. "We don't know, but the report seems to point at a Cornerian Destroyer. The general design matched that of a Cornerian Iron-Fang class dreadnaught, but its construction was a bit altered, as if it was a general redesign. The _Sentinel_ was tracking Darkon and his _Maelstrom,_ as per your request, and they followed him to Fichina, but they pulled off before they entered orbit; they didn't want their pursuit to be seen as an invasion."

"Aeon what the hell are you planning?" Xiphos cursed under his breath as he stepped to the collection of large windows behind him, and with an arch of his arm the windows quickly tinted and lit up with several holographic displays, one of them was of a VERY familiar winged warship. "Any battle damage?"

"None, but the _Sentinel's_ shield emitters were offline during the duration of the engagement… which lasted the better part of ten seconds," Talen reported, trying to be quick and urgent in his explanation. "They repeatedly tried to hail the unknown ship to try and get it to state its intentions, with no reply from the crew. Then, it just randomly turned around and opened fire at one of the escorts, prompting them to close formation and return fire."

"As per protocol…" the king whispered with the faint trace of a smirk. "Status of the hostile Destroyer?"

"Disabled, but its current location and status is unknown," Commandant Talen answered. "After disabling it, the _Sentinel_ fired its concussion cannon and altered its course… From my reports, it was last seen drifting helplessly towards Fichina."

Xiphos' ears perked up at the mention of an LHC allied colony. "Does Senator Enroth know?"

"Yes, my lord, the _Sentinel_ radioed Fichinian Airspace Control immediately and declared the incident, that they were fired upon, that the frigates engaged to protect the _Sentinel_ , and that the unknown ship was heading right for them." Commandant Talen let out a breath of air and continued slowly. "They also warned them that Aeon Darkon was last seen in their vicinity, and to keep a lookout for him."

"Their reply?"

"Positive," Talen replied in relief. "Senator Enroth himself personally thanked the _Sentinel_ for the warning, and assured they would send a rescue party to look for survivors once the ship makes landfall. He promised to be watchful for Darkon as well."

Xiphos shrugged in confusion. "So this whole incident is… I guess… it may have well just been a Cornerian captain whose ego was bigger than their trousers."

Talen couldn't help but chuckle, although he still kept his serious expression. "That actually might be the case, but…"

"But?" Xiphos echoed after the Commandant paused. Talen let his ears lie flat as he glanced up at the king.

"The sensory officers of the _Sentinel_ are swearing up and down that the IFF transponder of the ship that opened fire was the same exact reading as the _Great_ _Fox_ ," he explained with overwhelming hesitance. "Same name. Same registry number. Same IFF frequency. The only inconsistency was its construction."

"The _Great Fox_ was the last Cornerian registered ship to be destroyed during the FC war…" Xiphos remarked quietly with his eyes narrowed, rubbing at his chin in downright mystification.

"Exactly."

"So… either someone is taunting us… or we have a _much_ bigger problem than we first thought," Xiphos grunted, rubbing at the golden hide on his forehead. He let out an impatient sigh and trotted over to the side of his desk where his tablets were, then started typing a few commands into the screens. "Recall all non-essential activity. The transports to the border worlds need a few more Destroyers, that's a given since the CDF has been giving them grief lately, but I want all active personnel that isn't guarding a transport route or the mines planet-side within the next forty-eight hours."

"Yes sire…" Talen acknowledged, tapping the orders onto his wrist. "Should I recall Knight Commander Griess as well?"

"No," the king replied damn near instantly. "Roja has earned his retirement. Let him live his immortality with his wife and children in peace. He did take her as his bondmate, and I'm not going to separate them after all the years of service he's done for Veria, Cerinia and their people. I just hope he never has to hear the call to arms again… this life is not an easy one."

"A life we all accepted when you put these heartstones around our necks, Xiphos," The Commandant replied, dropping the formality as he pawed at the beautiful crystal dangling from his copper hided neck.

"A life that you have a hard time keeping up with, just like you have a hard time keeping up with your wife," the golden dragon countered mirthfully.

Talen threw up his arms in defeat, unable to withhold his smile. "Hey, she's your and Izalia's daughter! She has her mother's looks and your stubbornness. It's not my fault she can't sit still sometimes."

"Serena at least has the commonsense to keep up with her training with you though," Xiphos fired right back, outstretching his hand. "I still thank you for that."

"Aye, this I know," Talen replied, shaking the king's hand in a very formal fashion, seemingly disregarding the rather playful banter the two exchanged just moments ago. After a few seconds of silence, he shrugged his shoulders and patted the sides of his legs. "So what do we do?"

Xiphos looks to the screens momentarily, then mimicked the Commandants gesture.

"As much as I hate to say it… We wait."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

"Krystal, honey, please," Yuri pleaded softly, lightly tapping on the blue vixen's door. "I need to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk," her muffled voice came back.

"Krys," he repeated, still keeping an assuring tone of voice.

"Just leave me alone," she whined, her voice even more muffled than before as it seemed as though she buried herself in her pillows. The older fox let out a silent sigh and let his head hang, then rubbed at his forehead as he slowly made his way back into the living room.

"I don't know what else to do Miya," the vulpine said in defeat. "She won't let me talk to her."

"You've been trying to talk to her for _days_ , hon," the wolf hybrid Miya answered, patting the open seat on the couch. "Obviously whatever you're doing isn't working."

"She's been like this ever since Cyp– _Jona_ came by," he replied, taking the open seat. "Those two are very close, and it honestly pained me more knowing that Jona and Krys wouldn't be able to see each other again than knowing we wouldn't have a Verian Guardian."

Miya nodded, clutching at one of the vulpine's paws. "It's tough for all of us, but what Krystal needs is support. We can't just sit here and let our daughter push us away."

"I know, but I don't want to force her to talk to us if she doesn't want to. It'll only make things worse."

"It will be worse if we leave her to let her emotions consume her," Miya countered seriously. "Something must be done to save our daughter from the wrath of the gods."

As if on cue, a soft knock was heard at the Cerinian couple's door, accompanied by a soft, female voice that both of them knew. Yuri instantly bolted up from the couch and undid the lock, then opened the door to a similarly sized vixen perched in the doorway. Despite being seven years older than Krystal, she looked just about as young as she did. She had a full coat of sky blue fur, along with a full head of very pale blue, almost white hair that curled and flowed down to about her waistline. The older vulpine let out a breath of relief, just as a gust of wind blew behind the vixen and made her hair wave and flow luxuriously.

"You couldn't have picked a better time to come and visit, Quina," he said, instantly inviting her into the house.

"Is there something wrong sir?" the sky blue vixen Quina asked, cocking her ears.

"It's about Krystal," he answered. "She's taking the whole "Verian retraction" thing hard, and I can't seem to find a way to talk to her."

"Aww, is she upset they left?" she questioned concernedly.

"She was in love with our protector," Yuri replied, lowering his ears. "She might not be able to see him again, and that's really tough on her."

"Oh, well, do you want me to try and talk to her?" Quina suggested. "I'm her best friend; she would be more than happy to talk to me about something like this."

"Would you do that for us?" the male vulpine asked sweetly.

"It would be a pleasure," she answered happily.

"Bless you Quina," he sighed. "Just make sure to be gentle with her, okay?"

"I will," she assured before slipping away and slowly walking through the hallway. She could feel the aura of the younger vixen's sadness through the door of her bedroom before she even got close to it, and she had to struggle to muster enough strength to tap on her bedroom door.

"I told you I don't want to talk," Krystal whined.

"Not even to me?" Quina asked somewhat tauntingly, and she instantly realized she made the right decision as she could hear footsteps progressively get louder on the other side of the wall. The door quickly opened, and before she could even process her next move her long tribal apparel was forcefully grabbed and dragged into the vixen's bedroom, the door narrowly missing her sky blue tail as it slammed shut.

Krystal almost instantly exploded into tears as she buried herself into Quina's bust. She couldn't bring herself to speak, as she let all of her emotions do all the talking. After being a shoulder to cry into for a few moments, Quina finally spoke up.

"What's wrong Kryssy?" she asked as calmly as she could. "Your parents told me you've never been this upset before. Do you want to talk to me about it?"

"I miss my Guardian," she blurted out, choking through tears. "I want to see him again."

Quina noticed her grief and sadness, but another thing that she could sense from the smaller vixen was an aura of hatred – something Cerinians try and withhold from expressing for fear that it would consume them from the inside.

"Krys, calm down," Quina pleaded, rubbing the back of the vixen's head in a reassuring manner. "This anger is not good for you."

"Tell that to the Cornerians!" Krystal snapped. "If they would just stop being mad at everyone my Guardian would still be here!"

"I know sweetie," the older vixen said in a smooth voice, calming the younger vixen damn near instantly. "There's nothing we can do about it. We just have to wait until Corneria's leaders figure out what they're doing is wrong. They'll figure it out sooner or later."

"I know, but… I miss Jona," she squeaked, letting a few tears well up in her eyes.

"I'm sure Jona misses you too," Quina replied, giving the smaller Cerinian some much needed affection. "He was an amazing Guardian, wasn't he?"

"Yeah," Krystal replied pitifully.

"I think I remember seeing him before," she continued, letting a grin surface to try and lighten the mood. "He was always really friendly. He made sure you were safe all the time. Maybe some of the men in our village could take a few notes, eh Krys?"

Krystal finally let a giggle surface, letting Quina know she had struck the right nerve. "Heh, yeah, Jona could knock a bit of sense into them."

"Here's hoping," Quina remarked, provoking some more mirthful giggling from the smaller vixen. "Krys, I know, since you're the daughter of the town chief, you'll never have to put up with the demands of the warriors, but even if you are given the opportunity to, do not accept it."

"Why's that?" Krystal asked confusedly. "Birthmothers are always held up above others since they're essential in keeping the bloodline of warriors continuing."

"It may seem like a great opportunity, but trust me, it is awful," she responded. "Some of the warriors are caring and compassionate, but others are downright abusive and uncaring – seeing someone as an object."

Quina cranked her head over to Krystal and placed both of her sky blue paws over her shoulders. "Promise me you will never be like those people."

"I promise," Krystal repeated. "I'll be just like Jona. Kind, loving, caring… I wish I could see him again."

"I do too Krys," Quina grinned, again giving the smaller vixen a tender embrace. "Just pray that he stays safe, no matter what he does. He'll come back for us, it's just a matter of when."

"I just hope it's not too long," she said slowly. "I never got to tell him how much he means to me. I wanted to ask him to marry me, but… It would be too weird. He's the brother I never had. Asking him to marry me would be too strange for both of us."

"He's probably too old anyway," Quina remarked. "Besides, marrying your Guardian? That _would_ be strange."

Krystal giggled yet again. "Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking back then. I know Jona loves me, but not in that way. I'm like his sister. We get along so well, but I don't think we'd get along as well being a couple."

"Just ask your parents," Quina taunted, again making the smaller vixen erupt with laughter.

"Hey, you just made me promise not to be mean, and you go and do that?"

"Yeah? I'm older than you though."

"What's that have to do with anything?"

"You'll have to catch me to find out," Quina blurted out before popping off of her bed and running at top speed out of her room and down the hallway. Krystal laughed aloud and instantly chased after her.

As soon as the two vixens bolted out the front door, laughing and taunting each other, Yuri let a large smile crease his muzzle and nudged his wife.

"Looks like I made the right decision yet again."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

In the room directly across from Wolf's classroom at Indaras Academy, the other O'Donnell sat comfortably at her desk, rereading her plans on her tablet as the sound of her cadets talking filled her ears. Although the sound was predominantly garbled since she wasn't the best at understanding Verian without a translator just yet, she couldn't help but overhear two of the three male cadets talking about her. What she did understand of them weren't the most appropriate things to be said, but she couldn't blame them in the slightest being a female Cornerian, and an absolutely beautiful one at that.

Right as she tried to stand up, a message came through on her tablet, courtesy of her mate Wolf. She couldn't help but smile as she read the message.

 _Good luck beautiful. We'll go out to eat during your lunch break, okay?_

 _Sounds great_ , she typed back. _Love you!_

Sheila picked herself out of her seat and changed the screen on her holographic tablet. "Hi guys, sorry to keep you waiting so long," she said warmly, flicking her ears.

"That's okay Commander O'Donnell," a brown scaled female giggled, readjusting her dark brown ponytail. Sheila couldn't restrain her smile.

"I still can't get over how weird it feels to be called that," she remarked, scrolling through her tablet. "Feels surreal. I still feel like a new recruit back in the Cornerian Defense Force, and here I am now."

"I'm sure you were cute back then too," a slim coppery-gold Verian piped in, snickering with the dark crimson dragon sitting next to him. Sheila rolled her eyes and smiled smugly at him.

"As a matter of fact, Tomâs, I _was_ cute back then," she countered mirthfully, intentionally shaking her head to make her extremely lengthy cinnamon locks wave and shimmer in the sunlight. "My hair wasn't this long, but at least I still had all of my teeth back then."

"What do you mean?" a silver female asked curiously.

Sheila contracted her lips and poked at her long top right canine tooth. "This is fake. Lost the real thing during the war six years ago. And nobody ask me to explain how, because I really want to just put that event behind me. Hurts to even think about it."

Sheila's reminiscing came to an abrupt end once she heard a knock at her door. She cocked her ears and her head as she excused herself and went to unlock the door, and nearly squealed at the Verian soldier perched just outside the doorway.

"Jona!" she yipped quietly, lunging forward and wrapping her arms around the larger dragon. Jona chuckled and returned the friendly gesture.

"Hey little husky," he said with a smirk, giving her a gentle nudge for good measure. "Thought I'd drop by and see how you're doing with the class."

"Aww, thanks. I actually just started today, we're gonna go over the fighter classes for simulations tomorrow." the husky suddenly turned back to face the class and smiled. "Hey guys, this is Knight Captain Jona Falx of the Verian Guardian Corps. He's a good friend of mine, and he actually taught me quite a few things as well."

"I'm just gonna sit over here and harass you guys for a while," Jona remarked with a smirk, getting all six of Sheila's cadets to chuckle softly. As soon as the large Verian took Sheila's seat at her desk, she transitioned her gaze back to her tablet and started scrolling through a few names.

"So, first off, roll call," she said, looking over at Jona while making askance glances to the dark golden dragon sitting in the corner. "So, looks like our flirt over there Tomâs Strome is here. Honestly, he's pretty damn good at flying, but he could be better if he'd stop picturing me in a swimsuit every five seconds."

The entire class, including Jona himself, exploded into howling laughter as Tomâs' cheeks started blazing, then proceeded to retract into his uniform in shame. It was true, the golden dragon couldn't help but create lustful and provocative images in his head about the husky, only because he thought she was the most beautiful creature in the universe. He did have a talent for flying, but his better talent would be to see how many images of the female husky naked in bed with him he could create in a few short minutes.

Sheila skipped over to Jona and sat up on her desk, still not looking away from her tablet. "Okay, Mel?"

"I'm here, Commander," the brown dragon spoke up happily. Mel Brooks is a rather tiny dragon with two different beautiful shades of brown for her hide and hair respectively, but that doesn't take away from her surprisingly strong frame. She is much stronger than the females in her age group, but is seems that strength can be toggled like a switch, as she can be a very sweet and compassionate person. Sheila absolutely adores this little dragon, and makes it a point to assist her as much as possible.

Speaking of cadets Sheila genuinely loved, a royal blue furred dragon on the other side of the room was her next name on her list. "Jadyn?"

"Hey Commander O'Donnell," the female exclaimed, giving the husky a warm smile. Jadyn Draisaitl, the most unique Verian in the classroom because of her Verian frame, yet Cerinian blue fur and telepathic advantages – such differences coming from her Cerinian hybrid heritage – was up there in skill for Sheila's squadron. Her Cerinian telepathy combined with her Verian genes allowed her to get into virtually every single enemy's head, which gave her the upper hand in all of her dogfights. The ability to track her opponent's next move was the most useful skill in piloting, and she utilized it to the best of her ability, despite being picked on by the rest of her squadron because of her unusual blue furred body. Sheila loved her because of her immense natural talent, and made sure to punish anyone she saw that made fun of her beautiful frame.

"Hey, Sheila," Jona butted in. "You've got a Cerinian hybrid in your squadron?"

"Yeah, she's beautiful, isn't she?" the husky answered, making the hybrid blush purple. "She's absolutely incredible in simulations."

"You can see what your opponent is gonna do next, right?" Jona asked the blue furred Verian. Jadyn nodded and smiled.

"I try not to brag about it, but it really is useful," she replied. "Everyone hates it because I always win simulation fights."

"That makes sense, but don't let that success get to your head," Jona warned. "Having a mental edge is great, but you've gotta get that tactical skill too. Don't forget that."

"I'll make sure," Jadyn grinned. "Thank you Captain."

Sheila giggled and nudged him gently, lowering her voice to a whisper. "You wonder why she's one of my favorites."

"I can tell," Jona whispered back, unable to withhold his smile. Sheila straightened herself out and glanced up at a dark crimson dragon that was snickering with Tomâs.

"Oh boy, what's funny now Marian?" she asked with a smug grin.

"Oh, uh, it's nothing," he said, practically choking through laughter. Marian Felix was another average cadet, he had his skills and his disadvantages, but something that set him apart was his mutation. Jona noticed it right away, as his father had that same mutation on his chest; the gift of the Ancients – a fire/ice gland that glimmered in an absolutely spectacular spectrum of colors. Marian was humble about it, he never showed it off as a trophy of sorts, and he was always somewhat secretive about it as well. He is rather shy, but once you gain his trust and friendship he can be a great ally and an even better partner in combat.

"What did Tomâs say now?" she said with a faint sigh.

"Why do you always think it's me, Commander?" the golden dragon complained. Sheila shrugged and licked her chops.

"When _don't_ I think you're behind something?" she countered.

"It wasn't him, ma'am," Marian chuckled. "Captain Falx made a strange face behind your back and I couldn't help but laugh."

"Jona!" she whined, causing the older Verian to erupt into laughter.

"I'm sorry," he said, wheezing and sputtering through laughter. "I'm just not used to sitting around and doing nothing. I let the boredom get to my head."

"Clearly," the light copper husky grunted, smacking at him with her tail. Sheila finally popped back off her desk and glanced over at the most intimidating Verian in the room. "Hey Ferrus, how's it going?"

"Not bad, Commander," Ferrus replied in a very gruff voice. Ferrus Ifmal was actually with Wolf's squadron for the better part of two weeks, but he just didn't cooperate well enough with the lupine instructor so he switched with Lilith to get into Sheila's squadron. One could compare this extremely muscular soldier to a rock in his build and size, as well as his steel gray hide color. He was always considered a military brat, although he joined out of his own will despite his entire family being enlisted at one point or another. He never did take a liking to the Cornerian instructors, so he tried his best to be difficult, and Sheila herself knew it, although she had much more patience with him than her husband did.

"And finally, we've got Eve," Sheila said slowly, pivoting her head to face the black and green female that had both of her arms and legs crossed. "Hey sweetie."

"Hi," she replied unfocusedly. Eve Hossa had beauty, although she tried to flaunt it a lot more than other female soldiers did. She makes herself appear vain, despite having a chill and caring nature that gives her a two-faced character. Her slender frame and luxurious feathery hair made her a very good looking soldier, but it seems as though her look is the only thing she can uphold. She isn't the best at piloting or combat in general, and in all honesty she could give two shits about it.

"Alright, that's everyone," Sheila smiled, placing her tablet back onto her desk. "Jona, would you mind giving these guys a bit of knowledge?"

"Wha– me?" he asked, leaning forward in Sheila's office chair. "I-I'm not the instructing type."

"Aw, come on buddy," Sheila giggled, giving the dragon a few reassuring pats on the shoulder. "It's just fighter classes. You know those like the back of your hand."

"Well, yeah, but–"

"Jona, please," she pleaded softly, giving her tail a mirthful wag for good measure. Jona sighed and finally nodded in defeat.

"Alright," he grunted, standing up out of Sheila's chair. "You owe me."

"Don't worry, I'll make it up to you," she assured, giving the dragon a sly wink. Jona chuckled and slowly walked up to the front of the room, then clasped his hand together with an audible smack.

"Guess you guys get the opportunity of having a Guardian teach a class."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

"It's fuckin' cold already," Joel complained, tightening his thick and heavy jacket around his chest.

"The windows are already freezing," Eliot remarked, pointing to the port hole that was rendered useless because of the insane amount of frost that had accumulated on the inside, and the ice that had frozen to the outside. Erik shivered and donned his own arctic camo jacket, essentially doubling his size.

"So Joel, this better be one thing your father planned right," he said, zipping the coat all the way up to his neck.

"Like my father planned for third party interference," he snapped right back, throwing a light gray camo ski mask over his face, concealing his mouth and nose.

"Yeah, it wasn't his fault Erik," Ramsay added, throwing some heavily padded and insulated gloves over his hands. "I'm not even sure Einstein knew about that patrol. Just cut him some slack, ai'ight?"

"At least we're still breathing," Jordan remarked, binding her chestnut brown hair into a ponytail. "We're also lucky that the ship didn't screw up our landing gear. Our landing could've been much worse."

"True," Joel said as he slipped a pair of colored sun goggles over his forehead. He then made his way to the supply closet and pulled out his customized M4A1, complete with a comfortable foregrip, a unique hybrid ACOG/thermal scope that would point out heat signatures without hindering the vision of the rest of the lens (courtesy of salvaged Cornerian equipment), and an obligatory suppressor because of obvious reasons. If that wasn't enough, he had it outfitted with an arctic camouflage paint scheme to blend the weapon in with the rest of his heavy gear, consisting of a heavy bulletproof vest underneath a thick and insulating arctic winter coat, heavy combat pants with the same amount of insulation, and boots outfitted to combat the frozen terrain; all colored in the same colors as his weapon. He stuck a brand new magazine into the weapon just as Jordan zipped the rest of her similarly colored jacket up.

"Hey," she said softly, popping off of the bench and giving a friendly elbow to the lieutenant. "Good luck out there."

Joel snickered to himself and slipped a few extra magazines into the pouches of his heavy coat. "Thanks, but I'm not the one that's gonna need luck out there. If anything, those dogs are gonna need all the luck they can get."

Jordan giggled and swiped one of Joel's ammunition magazines, then stuck it into her own customized M4A1, making an audible click as she loaded the first bullet into the chamber. "All too true. I'm ready whenever you are."

Joel smirked and nodded after slinging his rifle to his back, then glanced over at the rest of his crew. "Alright team," he shouted loudly, getting their attention instantly. "Because of those fuckers that shot us down, we've got a bit longer of a trek towards our intended destination than we previously drew up. If the surface map is correct, not only are we about ten klicks from the base, but we've got to deal with some pretty rugged terrain as well. That being said, make sure you've got plenty of supplies, and plenty of insulating clothes to protect against this climate. You guys have five minutes to prep up until we hit the road. All clear?"

"Yes sir!" everyone barked in unison, getting Joel to smirk to himself. As soon as everyone started making some last minute preparations to their equipment, he walked over to Eliot, his boots causing enough noise for the Corporal to crank his head up before his superior officer got to him.

"Are you sure you want to take Stryker?" he asked, pointing at the shepherd that was covered in an arctic camo vest that mimicked the rest of his team's equipment, along with a special insulating helmet to keep the canine's head warm.

"I have to," Eliot answered. "I'm not leaving him behind."

Joel nodded and let a smile surface, patting the smaller soldier's shoulder. "You're loyal as he is, El. It's good to see, especially from my platoon."

"Thanks," Eliot said, grinning for the first time in what seemed like ages. He screwed his own silencer onto his MP5 and unfolded the stock, then slipped a few extra magazines into his vest, and to Joel's surprise, onto Stryker's vest.

"Stryker can hold an extra five pounds of ammunition if you want to throw some extra clips into him," Eliot said, patting the shepherd's vest. Joel nodded, then removed two full clips of his ammunition and slipped them into special pouches on Stryker's vest. Just as he finished, Stryker cranked his head around and gave a quick lick on Joel's face, getting a quiet chuckle from the lieutenant.

"Good boy," he grinned, scratching the underside of the canine's muzzle. "Ready to kick some tail?"

Stryker barked softly in response, almost as if he was saying yes to Joel's question. Eliot laughed and stuck a few flashbangs and concussion grenades onto the canine's vest.

"I've never heard him do that before," he grinned, tightening the straps on his vest. "Looks like he's really itching for a fight."

Joel chuckled in response, then slipped away and walked up to the control panel to activate the mechanism to open the main hangar doors. A grainy alarm blared as he pushed the button, but what drowned that sound out was the awful reverberation of scraping metal as the large hangar door folded up like a garage door. The door wasn't even a full foot off the ground before Joel felt a metaphorical wall of damn near frozen air slam into his frame even through all of his protective equipment.

Luckily the outside surface was bright enough to see the surrounding terrain, and could possibly aid in giving them an extra few degrees of warmth, but the outside weather conditions looked exponentially worse than any blizzard any of the recon team had ever seen before. Snow started blowing inside of the hangar in heavy gusts, which was Joel's cue to start the mission.

"Ready boys?!" he shouted over the blowing snow.

"HOO-RAH!" the rest of his team barked out in unison. Joel snickered to himself yet again, then slipped out of the Destroyer into the bitter cold Fichinian climate.

Joel's command didn't get off to an ideal start right off the bat. The first step he took on solid ground wasn't all that solid. In fact, his first step caused him to sink into over a foot of heavy, frigid snow, burying everything under his knees. He let out a soft, agonized breath as he could feel the cold slowly seeping through his clothes, but only by sheer willpower and determination did he fight through the heavy snow and trudge on. Erik was closely on his six, and following them was Charlie, Jordan, Samuel, and Eliot, while the others lagged behind to watch in case of a potential ambush.

Joel found it somewhat humorous to see Stryker fight with the snowfall, but the canine seemed to love every second of the cold climate. Occasionally the dog would snort and shake his head if a particularly large snowflake found its way into his nose, and Joel couldn't help but laugh along with the others that were watching him as well.

"Cold, eh Joel?" Jordan suddenly asked, almost completely muffled by the blowing snow and her ski mask. Lieutenant McClellan wiped a few flurries off of his tinted visor and gave a particularly disapproving scowl, not that you could've seen it through his own protective mask.

"It's nasty," he answered unenthusiastically. "My father said this planet was Siberia cold, not _this_ cold. I hate to say it, but I think we might be underprepared."

"Not hardly," Jordan assured, balancing her M4A1 loosely in her hands. "We'll be there in no time."

"I sure hope so," he muttered.

Much to Joel's surprise and relief, the storm plaguing their vision started to ease up. However, even though visibility was increasing, the temperature wasn't following suit. In fact, it seemed the sky around them was starting to darken, and it wouldn't be long before the temperature would plummet faster than the sun under the horizon. They needed to pick up their pace if they wanted to survive the night.

The bitter cold was slowly starting to seep through Joel's protective clothing little by little, and he couldn't help but shiver as he directed his team down a rather steep incline to get closer to the surface. They had come down in a place of high elevation as evident with the lack of oxygen they seemed to be getting, along with the sub-zero temperatures seeping through any crack or gap in their clothes, so the closer they could get to "sea" level, the warmer it would be. And in their current situation, they needed all the heat they could get.

It was five minutes into their trek, and it seemed as though they had gotten absolutely nowhere. Lieutenant McClellan noticed the rather disapproving and somber attitude the rest of his team exhibited, and it wouldn't be long before someone–

"How far away are we?" Samuel asked, giving his silenced P90 one last checkup.

Charlie let out an agonized groan. "I can't tell. Magnetic flux in this area is insane; it's messing with the maps."

"Magnetic flux?" Joel echoed curiously. "How bad?"

"Nasty," he answered. "Something about this planet is making magnetic readings go off the charts. If it gets any worse, we might lose radio signals."

Joel swore under his breath, then growled as he brushed some snow off of his shoulders. "Tell everyone to stay close. Visibility is shit, and I don't want to lose anyone in this storm."

"How many should we have?"

"Fourteen total," Joel shouted back. Something in the back of the lieutenant's mind told him that he wasn't going to have all of his team after a quick head count, and to his surprise he wasn't the only one that thought the same.

"And here's where everything goes to shit," Samuel grumbled.

"Come on, man," Ramsay grunted, giving a friendly elbow to the soldier. "Just think of it as a cold ass Middle East."

"Just camping out in enemy territory," Eliot added softly, practically drowned out by the face-numbing wind.

"Lying in the belly of a shark more like," Samuel muttered with noticeable hostility.

"So fuckin' cold and so fuckin' dark," Ramsay sang in a low growl, causing two or three other soldiers to reply with vocal guitar noises in the tune of the song the bald Sergeant was referencing. The rest of the platoon that caught the reference laughed along and shared a few light bumps into each other, enjoying the rather light moment amongst the hell they were enduring.

A few seconds of silence other than the howling of the bitterly frigid wind later, Charlie piped up again in a worried tone. "I've got thirteen soldiers Joel. We lost one."

"I fuckin' knew it," Joel swore, stopping in his tracks and instantly turned around, but right as he tried to speak Erik cut him off.

"We can't stay and look for him," he blurted out frankly. "This weather will kill us before we can find him."

"I'm not leaving a soldier behind," he replied adamantly.

"We don't have a choice," Sergeant Josef argued. "I'm freezing as it is, and guaranteed everyone else is too. We have to make sacrifices to be successful."

"I can't just leave him!" Joel shouted back. "He's probably wondering where the hell we're–"

"Stryker's got his scent," Eliot piped in. "He knows where he's– Woah, boy. Woah!"

Stryker took off running right as Eliot dropped the leash, and it didn't take long for him to recover and chase after the shepherd. Joel groaned to himself as he slung his rifle onto his back and trudged after him.

Stryker came to an abrupt halt right at the edge of a tall cliff face, pointing his nose towards the ground almost three hundred feet below and whimpered slightly. Joel once again swore under his breath and looked towards the ground, but couldn't see anything lower than thirty feet below his boots because of the terrible visibility and intense snowstorm.

"Must've not noticed and fell off," Samuel remarked.

"No," Joel argued softly, glancing at the fresh boot prints in the snow. "We walked over this spot. Something happened to the damn mountain."

Almost as if on cue, the ground everyone was standing on started shaking. If it wasn't for pure instincts, Joel and the others would've plummeted as the ground beneath them gave way, but luckily Joel lunged and tackled Erik away from the faltering cliff just in time, right as almost half of the cliff broke up and collapsed.

The extremely deafening noise of an avalanche assaulted the soldiers' ears, or the ones who were quick enough to jump away from the collapsing snow trap. As the intense noise died down, Joel managed to pick himself out of a deep snowbank and looked over to where they were just standing, seeing nothing but blowing snow and condensing precipitation, not to mention the ground, or lack thereof.

Joel cringed as the bitter cold and brutal winds started eating away at him again at a much harsher intensity, and only by sheer willpower and curiosity did he managed to lift himself out of the ocean of snow and stand up on his own two feet. A quick head count told him that five of his soldiers had vanished, probably the victims of the unpredicted avalanche. He saw the rest of his platoon, so that was a relief to him, but one thing that caused his heart to drop was that one particular soldier was missing.

Joel instantly heard faint, drowned-out screaming as soon as he realized that Jordan wasn't in the snowbanks, and a quick glance towards the cliff showed him that she was barely hanging on to the side of the cliff. Joel immediately dove over and grabbed her hand with both of his own, vice-gripping her wrist.

"Hang in there!" he shouted over the sound of blowing wind.

"I'm slipping!" she squeaked, fighting to hold on to Joel's gloved hand.

"Don't you dare let go," he growled, fighting with himself to try and find a foothold in the extremely deep and slick snowfall. As much as he hated to admit it, if he didn't find a foothold soon, both he and Jordan would go plummeting down to their demise.

"Joel," she choked, trying to regain a foothold in the side of the cliff, but her boots kept slipping off of the icy rock. "Joel, I… I can't hold on anymore."

"Don't say that!" he snapped, trying to pull her up onto solid ground, but realized that her gun strap was snagged onto a jagged rock and prevented her from being pulled upward. "Drop your gun."

"What?"

"I said drop your gun," he repeated urgently. "I can't pull you up unless you drop your gun, now do it."

"Joel, I can't–"

"Drop your damn gun or I'm gonna drop you," he said in a noticeably faltering voice. "I can't pull you up. Please."

"JOEL, HURRY!" Erik barked, noticing that the ground underneath the lieutenant was starting to crack.

"If I let go, I'll fall," Jordan protested, holding on to Joel's hands with both of her own. "I can't do it."

"I won't let you go," Joel assured. "Just trust me."

Jordan managed to wiggle one of her hands free, then clawed at the strap on her gun as if she was an animal gnawing off a limb to escape a trap. Joel grunted as he struggled to support her weight and struggled to keep a half-decent foothold. He noticed the ground was starting to give, but he couldn't just abandon her. He'd rather fall than let her go.

"It's stuck," she grunted, pulling on the strap of her gun with all of her power, but it just wouldn't budge.

"Come on Jordan," he said calmly, giving her some much needed assurance. "I don't have much time."

"Just go," she commanded in a broken voice. "You're gonna fall too if you don't get out of here."

"Bullshit; I'm not leaving you," he snapped, clasping onto both of her hands. "I'm not leaving my soldiers behind, especially you."

"Joel, the mountain is breaking up, and I can't get free," she explained with urgency.

Joel growled and snapped his head back. "Erik! Get my knife; I need to cut the strap off!"

"If I go over there I'm gonna cause you two to fall!" he shouted back.

Joel essentially said "fuck it" in his head and tried one last time to try and pull her up, but with the force he put on his knees to try and break the strap on her weapon manually, it ended up being the last little push the rock holding the duo up needed to snap like a fault line. Joel couldn't help but get thrown backwards as if a car had struck him as the cliff gave way. As he involuntarily slammed on his back, exhausted from the exertion he put on keeping the female from falling, he felt his heart break as he heard one last reverberating _thud_ from the ground below.

Erik impulsively ran forward and pulled Joel away from the sheer drop, dragging his frame through the frigid snow. Lieutenant McClellan brushed off the dust-like snow from his heavy jacket just as the massive soldier finished his recovery attempt and managed to stand up despite his internal protests.

"I'm sorry Joel," Eliot said softly, patting his shoulder. "There was nothing you could do."

"I let her fall," Joel choked, pulling the snow covered ski mask off of his face. "Fuck! I could've saved her!"

"Joel," Erik whispered.

"I loved her Erik," the lieutenant continued.

"Joel we need to go," Erik said sternly. "That avalanche is gonna attract anyone that was close enough to hear it. We need to get out of here."

Joel involuntarily fell to his knees in grief, but soon realized that it wasn't just grief that was causing him to lose his senses. He suddenly felt a stabbing pain towards the back of his neck, accompanied by an awful feeling that he instantly recognized, but was too late to try and stop. The nerve agents were already halfway through his system by now.

His vision, hearing, and muscles started to melt into nothing, and not soon thereafter he felt himself fall face first into the excessive snowbanks, the cold seeping into his cheeks like acid on metal. The last things he could hear before the blinding white light was replaced by unconsciousness was his best friend shouting at the top of his lungs, followed by a resounding thump next to him.

 _"AMBUSH!"_

* * *

 _So here I lie in the belly of a shark  
So fuckin' cold and so fuckin' dark  
So here I lie in the belly of a shark  
And how the fuck did I get this far?_

 _Now all I have to do  
Is swim after you  
Convince you to climb in too  
Cut yourself first  
They can smell your blood  
From forty miles away_

 _They'll be here in no time  
They'll be here in no time_

 _*Gallows – In the Belly of a Shark*_


	6. Ize of the World

**H: A/N: ...*tap* *tap *tap*... This thing on? ...okay... Uh, hey fellas. If you guys didn't know this already, Shep added to his "staff" on his account, so you guys will occasionally get me before updates or on review responses. I know how most of this stuff works... I think... so, yeah... there's that.**

 **Shep told me I could have the honor of posting a chapter with a signature "ungodly long" author note, so I've got that going for me which is nice. I won't waste you guys' time though, because Shep and his partner WhiteWolf have put together a really nice chapter, and me personally, I think this may be a pivotal chapter in this story. As Shep always says, I hope you enjoy it.**

 **He also told me to mention that there are a few more user created characters that make brief cameos here, so if you happen to be one of the creators of these characters... congrats!**

 **Anyway, from here on out Shep and I will sign-out with our respective titles so that you know who's writing. My author notes will start with H, while Shep's will start with S. Get that confusion out of the way. As for me, I'm working on my own story to be posted on this account soon so keep an eye out for that I guess if you're interested. This is Haygood signing out - hope you fellas have a good rest of the day!**

* * *

 _I think I know what you mean but watch what you say  
'Cause they'll be trying to knock you down in some way  
Sometimes it feels like the world is falling asleep  
How do you wake someone up from inside a dream?  
Your mind would wander and search for its place in the night  
Your body followed this feeling like following light  
Once that your music was born it followed you 'round  
And then it gave your activities meaning and let you be loud  
You're sad but you smile, it's not in your eyes  
Your eyeballs don't change, it's the muscles around your eyes_

 _An egg to fertilize  
A pulse to stabilize  
A body to deodorize  
A life to scrutinize  
A child to criticize  
Young adults to modernize  
Citizens to terrorize  
Generations to desensiti–_

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Ize of the World**

* * *

One could almost compare the tandem of General Wes Jaeger and the scientist Vince Stazac walking down the long corridor of the parliamentary wing of the CDF HQ to a father and son walking to a doctor's appointment. Wes towered over the tiny arctic fox by well over half a foot, and was calm and collected as he made his way down to the Prime Minister's office, while Vince was nervous and jittery, and stood close to the General in hopes that he could get the slightest bit of protection from him. This was the first time Vince was required to come down to the Prime Minister's office, while Wes did this so many times that he was honestly bored with talking to him, for obvious reasons that Vince will soon come to realize.

"I hate this part of my job," Wes muttered quietly, almost drowned out by the two sets of boots clicking against the polished white floor. Vince chuckled silently and rubbed his paws together nervously.

"W-why's that?" he stuttered, causing the wolf hybrid to let out a sigh.

"Promise me this conversation stays between the two of us?" the general asked, prompting the arctic fox to nod. "In all honesty, Victor's an ass. I personally can't stand him. I try to avoid talking with him as much as I can, but being in my position, it's impossible to stay away from him."

"Oh, is… is it really that bad sir?" Vince questioned.

"I can't put it into words how bad he is," Wes admitted frankly. "If it wasn't for me, we'd be at war with the Verians right now. I'm the only string keeping the peace held up."

"Sounds stressful," Vince remarked awkwardly.

"You don't know the half of it," he growled to himself, shaking his head. "The fact of the matter is that if he wasn't in this seat of power, everyone wouldn't be so afraid of him. I'm not, since I know behind that title he's a coward. A disgrace to people that have held that position before him."

"I've always known he's been a little hostile and antagonistic, but–"

"A _little_?" Wes echoed, contracting his muzzle to show off his sharp teeth. "Guy can't go a few minutes without thinking something is acting against him and his authority. If it wasn't for me and Secretary Reeves, he'd be launching warships at every single threat he saw."

"Paranoid?" Vince said questioningly.

"More like _delusional_ ," Wes grunted. "Needs to calm down before something ridiculous happens, and knowing his reputation and backstory something will."

"Why, did… something happen to him sir?"

Wes exhaled through his nose and nodded. "He lost his wife and his six year old daughter in the human satellite explosion. To be frankly honest, he still hasn't recovered from that."

"Damn," Vince muttered. "Makes you think that what he's doing is justified, no?"

"Hell no," Wes instantly argued. "There is absolutely no justification for what he's done in power for the last six years. You would know, Stazac, your best friend acted exactly like that during the war."

Vince immediately cringed and contorted his muzzle, lowering his head and his ears as that last few moments of James' life played back in his head like a broken record. The anger, the hatred, and the gunshot. The gunshot in particular gave the arctic fox a sour taste and a broken facial expression.

"I'm sorry Vince," Wes spoke up, patting the smaller tod's shoulder reassuringly. "I didn't mean to bring it up. I knew how close you two were."

"It's alright, sir," Vince managed to reply, pushing the glasses back up on his muzzle. "I miss him quite a bit, but I honestly don't know where we'd be right now if he survived. He changed too much."

"Very true," the hybrid nodded, then gave a gentle backpaw to the scientist's shoulder as they came up to the Prime Minister's office door. Standing guard were two opposite colored foxes with blocky assault rifles, both covered head to tail in protective gear. Wes let out a silent impatient sigh and stepped up to them.

"Ax. Zander. Great to see you fellas," Wes forced a smile. "Sorry you guys got stationed here."

"It's not a problem, sir," the larger, more muscular fox replied, shifting the rifle in his paws. "You're here to see Muzzin?"

"Yes, Vince and I have some things to discuss with him."

"Heh, good luck," the thinner white fox remarked.

"Thanks," Wes replied sarcastically, giving the vulpine a friendly nudge as he swiped his keycard on the receiver, and after a quick six digit password the lock on the door unlatched. Wes smirked with half of his muzzle and winked at Vince, then slowly opened the door and stepped inside.

Surprisingly, there was more than just one person already in the office. Leaning against the right side of the large oak desk was a familiar face to the vulpine scientist, a brown husky and wolf hybrid named Kyle Reeves. Formerly a captain in the CDF during the First Contact campaign, he turned to politics after he realized that Corneria needed his intellect behind the desk more than in the cockpit. His combat smarts make him an excellent fit for the Secretary of Defense, and his cool, rational mentality only benefits this job. He is in the office for quite some time every day, but he has found time to start a family with one of his previous squadron members DJ, who is still enlisted in the force to this day. Vince instantly showcased a wide smile when he realized that he had brought his two-year-old daughter in to work today, her fur mimicking Kyle's but her looks and hair matching up with her mother.

On the smaller black sofa wedged into the corner of the room on the right side of the main door sat a rather tall and slim green canary, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Jonathan Andersen. As his specie was known for, Secretary Andersen had a large cowlick of mint green feathers right at the top of his forehead which jutted out and swooped back to give him quite an impressive looking curl. His black suit and green tie that mimicked his feather and eye color gave him an extremely formal and experienced look, despite only holding his position for two years. He had his right leg crossed over his left as he sipped his cup of coffee, chuckling with the small wolf sitting behind the desk.

Wes gave a forced grin at the rusty red and sandy brown wolf sitting at the massive oak desk towards the center of the room. That Ethiopian wolf was none other than Corneria's Prime Minister Victor Muzzin, his usual confident smirk creasing his long narrow muzzle as he spoke to the green canary. Albeit a bit on the smaller side, his power did not reflect it, and he sure as hell knows it. He's created a lot of controversy with Corneria because of his actions, and with his looks ranging from his slicked back greasy shoulder length hair, his deep yellow eyes, and his always smug expression tied in with his exquisite attire reflected that fact like a mirror.

"Yeah, he just shows up unannounced," the canary continued his story, fighting through laughter. "Tells me he's with the force and asked if I would follow him. Kept saying that there was a bomb threat in the building. I says, buddy, I don't know who you think you are, but unless you've got a badge to show me I ain't doing anything."

"And does he show one to you?" Kyle asked, readjusting the small female hybrid on his shoulder.

"No, he never did," Andersen continued. "I mean, no human would be enlisted in the force without showing a badge. It's common sense, especially in the situation we were in."

"You ever catch his name?" Muzzin asked, folding his paws over his desk.

"No, he didn't tell me," he answered. "I remember what he looks like though. About your height, pale skin, really dark hair, dark eyes… I mean, something about this guy seemed suspicious."

"Oh," Wes interrupted, startling the three secretaries. "Will Hawkins. I'd recognize that description anywhere. Yeah, Hawkins is registered military."

"Sure didn't seem like that," the canary grumbled. "He followed protocol well, but he just tipped me off as someone I honestly couldn't trust."

"He tends to forget his badge," Wes explained. "Probably why he never showed you. He's a good soldier though, don't let that one incident tell you otherwise."

"One incident?" Muzzin nearly growled, cocking his large ears at the general. "Shall I name off all of the human related incidents we've had since we let them stay here, general?"

Vince widened his eyes and looked away, biting his lower lip nervously as the rusty red lupine stoop up out of his chair.

"We're trusting them too much," he continued, stepping over to the large arched windows that lined the wall behind his desk. "Sooner or later something is going to happen with the people we supposedly trust."

"I'm not sure what you're implying, Muzzin," Reeves butted in, tightening his hold on his daughter.

"I'm talking about the Verian Kingdom," he snapped. "They were our ally for centuries, and as soon as one mistake happens they turn on us. They want _me_ removed from power, just because of what the humans did to us. Can you believe how absurd that is?"

Muzzin suddenly stopped and closed his eyes, then let his head hang as he let out a loud exhale through his nose. He ran a paw through his hair and glanced back up at the unfamiliar face in the room, then did his unmistakable habit of licking his chops before taking a few steps towards him – something considered very unprofessional and juvenile in Cornerian standards.

"I'm sorry, I let my blood pressure get too high again," he said, trying to chuckle to lighten the mood. "You're obviously with General Jaeger. Your name?"

"Vince Stazac," the fox replied nervously. "Lead engineer."

"Oh, _you're_ the one who invented the Arwings?" Muzzin asked with a bit of awe.

"That's me, sir," Vince answered proudly.

"Ah… pleasure to meet you… I'm going to go off on a limb here and say the only reason that you're here right now is to explain why our comms cut off just a few minutes ago, correct?" Muzzin questioned, glancing down at his unresponsive transmitter.

"Yes sir," Vince responded. "Just a little bit of interference. We're letting the servers cool down before we restart them."

"Would I be correct in assuming you know _why_ this happened?" he asked, his voice showing rather noticeable signs of hostility despite the forced grin on his muzzle.

"No sir," the arctic fox nearly stuttered. "We have no idea. We're speculating it's Solar interference, but we really haven't had time to dig into this."

"So," Muzzin started, licking his muzzle once more. "You decide to show up and tell me about one of your _issues_ , and you can't even bother to give me a decent explanation on why it even happened in the first place?"

"Victor," Kyle grunted. "Lay off him, alright? It wasn't his fault."

"Just like you keep telling me that the human's attack on our city wasn't their fault?" Muzzin nearly snarled, giving a nasty glare at the hybrid. "Stay out of this, Reeves. This is _my_ office."

 _I can see why people can't stand this guy_ , Vince thought to himself as the brown hybrid backed up and tightened his hold on his daughter again. He gave her a tender, reassuring kiss on her forehead as the rusty lupine turned back around.

"Now, Stazac," Muzzin smirked, and for a third time in a few minutes he licked his chops yet again. "I'd like to know more about this interference, preferably right now. Give me a definitive answer to why our comms lines were interfered with, and I promise I won't have you fired."

"Minister Muzzin!" Andersen squawked. "He's just a scientist."

"I-I-I don't know sir," Vince stuttered, practically on the verge of tears. "We don't have enough information."

"Bullshit," he blurted out angrily, causing Reeves to snarl menacingly as he clutched at his daughter's head.

"Muzzin, enough!" Kyle barked scornfully. "If you still want my vote for keeping increased patrols around Katina you better stop this inappropriate behavior right now. My daughter is here for crying out loud!"

Muzzin growled at the taller hybrid and curled his paws up into fists. He let a few long breaths out of his pointed muzzle and let his ears go flat.

"I apologize, Mr. Stazac," Muzzin said, blatantly obvious he was incredibly reluctant to do so. "I tend to get worked up about these kinds of things."

"All we came by to tell you is that there isn't anything to get in an uproar about," Wes interrupted impatiently. "Vince's partner, Fox, is down there in the lab right now and the comms should be coming back up any moment now."

"They better," Muzzin grumbled breathily. "I don't want to be left in the dark any longer than I have to."

"I understand," Wes forced out. "I know how you're feeling with all of this tension as of recently, but you can't let that get to your head. We'll do what we can to resolve it."

"Thank you general," Muzzin said, for the first time showing genuine gratitude and compassion. "I'll let you two go and finish whatever it is you need to do. As soon as the comms come back on, I'll talk to the senators on our colonies and explain the situation to them."

"Good plan sir," Wes said, then nudged Vince to get his attention. He persuaded the smaller arctic fox to follow him back out into the hallway, and as soon as they were clear of the two guards outside the minister's door Vince groaned and pawed at his forehead.

"I'm so sorry sir."

Wes stifled a chuckle and nodded along.

"Everyone is."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Something about the massive expanse of inky black space covering the entirety of the silvery gray dragon's cruiser windows gave the captain of the ship in question a sense of serenity and calmness that he desperately needed at this current moment. Just the sight of seeing an undisturbed plane of nothing but empty void and dots of distant stars was oddly soothing, but that in and of itself wouldn't exclusively serve the purpose of calming the emotions of the captain of the Verian cruiser _Renown_.

Jona stood in front of one of the massive windows of the bridge with his unmistakable stance of letting his body lean to the side, arms crossed and shoulders relaxed. He kept letting breath after breath of cool air out of his nose, sometimes fogging up the window he was staring out of in the process. He did that almost the entire time, the boredom visible in his attempts at fogging the window.

Patrolling. His least favorite job. Just five or six hours of circling a distinct path, thousands of miles away from any sentient life and civilization. A monotonous elliptical course taking him around a few mining stations in the C-12 asteroid cluster, and the kicker was he couldn't even see the asteroids he was supposedly guarding. It drove him insane that he did this almost every single day, week after week, and even two years after his first round trip around the asteroid he still hasn't encountered a single problem. And that fact contributed to his boredom more than fogging the window of his (pardon the pun) renowned warship.

Boredom in a Verian in and of itself is cause for concern, especially for someone like Jona considering his ancestry and authority, but on top of that was a broad spectrum of emotions, ranging from anger, to restlessness, to worry, and even loneliness. That combination was a long fuse to the powder keg of an emotional breakdown, and the more he fogged the window to the inky black expanse of space, the shorter that fuse was becoming.

He couldn't help but think about her. The way she acted when he first told her about his retraction split his heart, and now he had to deal with the uncertainty of how she was feeling without him constantly checking up on her. The fact that he was forced to fogging a window instead of spending valuable time with her was infuriating to say the least. She needed him… hell, everyone on Cerinia needed their Verian protector, because only the gods and goddesses they believed in would know what would happen to them. As much as he hated to believe it, they made the wrong choice to leave.

It was all because of those damn bigoted Cornerian cowards that called themselves parliamentary secretaries. Accepting that deal was the only thing they could do to keep the planet form royally embarrassing themselves in a war. It pained them to do it, but it was their only option. Spilling unnecessary blood was not their forte, but if they didn't oblige with Corneria's demands there wouldn't be enough buckets to clean up the carnage.

Jona let out a particularly heavier breath, causing another cloud of fog to coat the window, then reached down and poked at his right side pocket on his uniform. It was empty, and usually it wasn't because it held one of his best close combat weapons, but it was one of the things he had to sacrifice to his charges. It was the least he could've done to keep her in his memory, because form the looks of it, Corneria would not allow Veria to resume Guardian duties. Sacrificing a blade was the least of his worries.

"Captain Falx?" one of the controllers on the bridge piped up, startling Jona somewhat. "Incoming transmission from Central Zenith. Sky Haven Manor."

"Put it onscreen," Jona commanded absentmindedly, letting a sigh out before trotting up to the front window. He waved his gloved hand at the window, causing a pale blue holographic screen to coat the surface. After a few moments of beeping to establish connection, a familiar copper dragon's face popped up on screen, causing Jona's ears to perk up.

"Oh, hey dad," Jona said happily, letting a grin surface.

"Hey Jona," Talen replied informally. "How's the patrol?"

"Do you really even need to ask?" Jona answered with a low groan, rubbing his right eye.

"I take it it's clear… yet again?"

"What made you catch on to that?" the gray dragon remarked sarcastically.

"It is protocol, kid," Talen replied, attempting a smile to lighten the mood. "We don't have another squadron to take your place. With Corneria growing more and more hostile, we need to keep an eye on every single inch of space between our asteroid mines and the homeland. Harassment from CDF patrols have risen exponentially ever since they reopened."

Jona growled softly and clenched his hands. "What I don't get is why they're even doing it in the first place."

"Nobody does," he answered back frankly. Jona popped his lips and waved his hand in a downward swipe, which transferred the image of his father onto his wrist transmitter, extensively downscaling the image so that his face could fit on the smaller screen. He held his wrist up to his snout as he started slowly pacing around the front portion of the bridge.

"So, you've never really called me about how things on my end have been going on patrol," Jona said with a cocked eyebrow. "Is there something up?"

Talen sighed and nodded. "I assume you've heard of the skirmish between the _Sentinel_ and the CDF cruiser over Fichina, correct?"

"I thought we were supposed to keep that under wraps," Jona remarked under his breath in a concerned tone.

"We are," the Commandant replied. "That skirmish was a result of the _Sentinel_ tracking down Aeon Darkon over that planet in question."

"I know that," Jona interrupted. "They did let the entire VGC know about Darkon's antics."

"Well, we were tracking him because of a weapons shipment he intercepted. Did they tell you that?"

"Stealing weapons?" Jona questioned, startled by the sudden revelation. "What is he planning?"

"Not even your grandfather knows," Talen admitted. "We're speculating it's for another revolution attempt, but we can't put down the uprising until we put down the person causing it."

"Darkon," Jona muttered.

"He's becoming too much of a threat," Talen continued. "We've been attempting to try and stop his anarchist plans, but nothing has been working. He's on the run too much, we can't keep up with all of his shipments, and in house Darkon neighborhoods there have been riots and violence to the point where it's worrisome. We need to do something about this."

"I don't know why you're asking me," Jona blurted out. "You just told me I need to keep my patrol."

"You do; I'm not asking you personally for help," he replied. "I'm just letting you know the situation. If you find his _Malestorm_ , do anything in your power to apprehend it. We lost contact with it around Fichina, so that's _miles_ away from where you are, but if you ever encounter him, we have the authorization to open fire."

"We're trying to kill him?"

"It's the only way to bring back peace," Talen responded, scratching at his coppery hide. "This is the worst Darkon activity in decades, and if it escalates we might have another civil war, and when we're already dealing with Corneria's antics it's really not the time to push house Darkon back down by conventional means. As much as your grandfather is against it, something needs to be done."

Jona withheld a snicker as he pressed his back up against the window he had just spent hours fogging up. "I may have someone that can help you out with that."

"Jona, I don't want you risking your life to try and track him down. We've already got the _Sentinel_ after him, we don't need your ship too."

"No, dad, hear me out," Jona pleaded. "I know someone that has had a lot of military experience, and he would be absolutely perfect for an operation against him."

"Who?"

Jona again withheld his smile and readjusted his stance. "Do you know the Cornerian instructors at Indaras?"

"The O'Donnells?"

"Wolf O'Donnell has mercenary experience," Jona continued. "He told me himself."

"Jona, I'm not sure if he is ideal for this kind of operation," Talen admitted. "He and his wife are admitted to the RVAF on strictly instructing positions–"

"Wolf had a position in Star Fox years ago," Jona interrupted, causing the copper dragon's eyes to shoot wide open.

"Wolf was a member of Star Fox?" he echoed disbelievingly.

"Tactical expert," Jona continued, letting a smile surface. "If he's not an ideal candidate for this Darkon operation, I don't know who is."

Talen was noticeably stuttering. "I-I don't know. I've never met the guy before, I don't know how well he performs in combat, and to be frankly honest, I'm not too sure if I can trust him."

"Granted, he's a Cornerian, I know, but his skill from what I've seen is nothing ordinary. He's an absolutely incredible fighter, and I know you'd think the same once you see him in simulation or training."

"I'll have to see him first hand," Talen said sternly.

"If I'm not mistaken he'll be in the middle of a simulation exercise with his cadets by the time I get back planet-side," Jona responded. "That's your best bet of finding out how well he can hold his own."

"But that's for piloting, and the operation your grandfather and I have drawn up involves a very tactical approach. It's not a Cornerian "shock-and-awe" operation, we need to keep this as quiet as possible."

"I understand," Jona replied. "If you want you can have a match with him. You and him, hand-to-hand."

Talen nearly snorted. "A Cornerian opponent? Heh, not a problem."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Jona snickered.

"Aw, please, it'll be easy," the copper dragon said confidently. "Tell you what. As soon as I'm done with the demonstration against your mother in a few days, I'll bring him in for a quick one-on-one."

"You sure?" Jona asked, withholding his smile. "You think you'll be in top shape after mom kicks your ass?"

"Watch it, kid," Talen nearly growled, casting Jona into an uncontrollable mirthful laughing fit.

"I'm joking!" the silver dragon whined. "If you insist, I'll talk to him after his sim. He'll be hungry to beat up on a stronger opponent, so you better not take him lightly."

"When do I ever take my opposition lightly?"

"Huh, let's see," Jona started in a sarcastic and taunting tone. "The last six sparring matches you've had against mom, you've gone oh for six."

"I'd like to see _you_ face off against her," Talen countered.

"Are you kidding!? She'll destroy me!" Jona half-shouted, smirking all the while. "But good luck on your match though."

"Gee, thanks," Talen grumbled, folding his ears back. "So much confidence coming from you."

"When have I ever been serious to you?" Jona asked.

"I don't know, let me get my notepad out," Talen grunted, the sound of rustling paper evident in the background. Jona couldn't help but smile at his uncharacteristically sarcastic actions.

"There's nothing there, is there?" he questioned in a low tone.

"Nope," Talen instantly answered, withholding his chuckling. "Anyway, it was nice talking to ya kid. I look forward to that match with Wolf."

"I'm sure he will too," Jona added, showcasing his own smile. "Take care dad."

"You too kid," he responded right before the comm link cut off. Jona smirked to himself and spun back around to stare out of the window, and just like before, he couldn't help but fog up the window with his breath.

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

The same damn blurry white picture he had collapsed to welcomed the human commander when he finally mustered enough strength to open his eyes. Obviously his eyes lacked focus at the current time, but he still saw a fuzzy, indistinguishable sight that he couldn't help but stare at like he was in some sort of stasis.

However, frustration was the least of his emotions, as the first thing he noticed when he managed to regain another physical sense–

 _Why the hell am I so warm?_

For some odd and mysterious reason he could not move, or for that matter, feel his arms or legs, but one thing he did feel was a rather heavy blanket wrapped over his aching frame. In fact, the place that he had found himself in had such a homely aura about it that he couldn't help but feel relaxed as he basked in its glow. It was extremely spooky, but he honestly didn't care; just so long as he was out of the frigid hell that damn near killed him.

The first thing he tried to do, since his eyes seemed to be failing him at the current time, was roll over on to his side on the bed he had found himself in. However, that attempt failed miserably, as he let out a subconscious groan when he realized that he was trapped within his own body. It was like his muscles were frozen solid, and that was his first assumption after coming out of the bitter cold climate.

And that was another question in and of itself; how did he get out? He remembered that he collapsed in the snow because of complications to the nerve agent that was shot into his neck, but whatever happened afterward was more mysterious than the room he had woken up in. A faint chill found its way down his spine when he processed his potential answers.

He had either been captured, or was dead, and the latter for him sounded like the better option.

He felt what little muscles he had control over tense up as the sound of a door clicking shut found its way into his frozen ears. Within moments, he felt the sensation of his right leg being rubbed. He wanted to react, but what little energy he had was going into his brain to keep him conscious. A very soft and smooth feminine voice washed over his ears just as the rubbing on his leg stopped.

"Hey big guy, you feeling alright?"

Joel's heart practically stopped. The only other female on his team was Jordan, and she fell through with the avalanche just before he blacked out. Unless she had miraculously survived the three hundred foot fall with little to no injuries, he did not know the figure sitting on his bed. As much as _she_ was comforting and calming to the lieutenant, he was still on edge.

"Here, drink this," the voice said, then not soon thereafter he felt a cold liquid being gingerly forced into his throat. "It'll fight against your terrible frostbite, and null some of that nerve agent."

Besides wanting to gag at the taste, he actually starting feeling much better as soon as the first drop landed in his stomach. After what felt like an eternity of the burning, yet soothing liquid being pumped into him like an IV, slowly but surely the feeling in all of his appendages started to gradually come back to his control. His eyesight was next, and the blurry white image he was forced to stare at refocused into a rather comfortable looking bedroom. It's quaint and quiet construction was extremely relaxing to him, and the softness and warmth of the bed he was lying in amplified it as his senses started coming back to him. He seemed to melt into the foam and springs as he finally felt safe for the first time in a long time.

All of that safety and comfort instantly vanished once he saw the female pearly white wolf sitting on his bed.

She looked to be about two inches taller than Joel at first glance, but built like him with her slim and slender frame. She had a long, pointed muzzle – just like her two ears – all covered in a thick layer of white downy fur. Her forehead and cheeks had the faint tinge of a light gray color, giving her the appearance of a Northwestern wolf with the way her surprisingly beautiful body looked. She had a full head of light gray hair that flowed to her shoulder blades, but the ending two inches of her hair were colored jet black, much like the tip of her long bushy tail that rested on top of Joel's leg. The she wolf giggled slightly and stared at him with her two piercing sky blue eyes.

"Great, you're awake," she said in relief, adjusting herself on the bed so that she could more comfortably face the human. "How are you feeling? Any better now?"

Joel couldn't respond. He was still scared shitless with the she wolf sitting close to him and her tail resting on his leg. He was not expecting to wake up with a Cornerian caring for him, a female one at that, especially with what his own specie was. The wolf caught on to his hesitance and downright petrification with her and gave a warm smile.

"Hey, it's okay," she assured in a silky voice, one that Joel himself couldn't help but feel a bit calmer afterward. "I'm here to take care of you. You and your team were in really rough shape when we found you, and we couldn't just leave you there to die."

"T-then, what… what was that nerve agent you shot at us all about?" Joel countered. The wolf smirked and patted his leg with her large tail.

"Wow, looks like the human _can_ talk," she said almost tauntingly.

Joel growled subconsciously and gave her a particularly nasty stare. "You're lucky you took my guns away, but if I still had them so help me–"

"Easy," she interrupted calmly, continuing to smack at his leg with her tail. "We won't kill any of you guys. We're not hostile. Besides, why would we kill you when you just got here?"

Joel nearly flushed. "Wha… What do you mean?"

The she wolf giggled yet again. "We've already talked to a few of your teammates. We know why you're here."

Joel felt all the air involuntarily leave his lungs. A sudden burst of panic overtook him as he forcefully removed the large insulating comforter off of his frame, but he gasped as he saw what he was wearing, that being some heavy clothing that was not his, or his correct size for that matter. He disregarded it and attempted to stand up, but stopped after he flung his legs over the bedside because of a nasty blood rush that almost made him black out. The wolf scooted closer to him and placed a paw over his leg.

"Calm down Joel," she assured, making the human's eyes shoot wide open after she just said his name. "We're not mad. In fact… We'd like to help."

"Help with what?" he asked quickly, slowly scooting backwards on his bed until his back pressed up against the wall. "Who the hell are you and what do you want from me?"

The she wolf couldn't help but chuckle. "Heh, for a human you sure are freaked out. I would've thought you humans would be more… menacing and tough."

"I just want to know what the hell is going on," Joel retorted.

"Promise me you'll calm down and I'll tell you everything," the lupine said, brushing some hair back behind her ears. Joel instantly nodded in response, much to his own reluctance.

"Okay," the wolf said softly, pivoting her body so that she could face the human better. "First off, since we just saved your live, I believe we are in need of a bit of thanks."

Joel honestly couldn't argue with her logic. He would've frozen to death out there if he would've stayed out there for very much longer. She was right, she did save his life, despite shooting that nasty nerve agent at him.

"Well, thank you, uh… I never caught your name."

"That's because I never told you it," she remarked lightheartedly, trying to ease the human's tensions. "I guess a name wouldn't hurt if we're gonna be working together. Call me Skae."

"Woah, wait, working with us?" Joel interrupted. "What do you mean?"

The she wolf Skae giggled again and tightened the scarf around her neck. "Well, one of your teammates – I think his name was Erik – he told us everything about what your plan was once you arrived here, because he was so insistent that we were going to torture him or whatever. Anyway, your takeover operation that you spent so long planning out will have to go to waste, because we are willing to cooperate with you fully."

"I'm lost," Joel blurted out, getting Skae to giggle again in a way that Joel had to admit was rather adorable.

"There's a long story you need to hear for this to make a bit of sense. Do you mind if I retell?"

"Considering I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, go right ahead."

Skae laughed softly and adjusted her seat on the bed. "You're a really funny guy, you know that?"

"I try not to be," he answered stoically. That seemed to be all he needed to say to wipe the smug look of the lupine's long white muzzle.

"Anyway," Skae continued in a much more serious tone. "When Corneria launched its first offensive strike on Earth, Corneria's colonies had to sacrifice supplies to support the war effort. Fichina heavily relies on Corneria's shipments because we can't produce or hunt enough food for our settlements to survive, so when they decided not to ship food to us anymore ever since our Senator openly denied support of the war, we started starving. Corneria's Prime Minister knew that we were starving to death without the shipments, but he refused to send transports until our Senator retracted his statements."

"So I'd be correct in assuming that everyone living on this snowball isn't too fond of Corneria right now," Joel remarked.

"See? You humans _are_ smart," she giggled to herself, much to the human's displeasure. "The entire Fichinian population, myself included, aren't the least bit supportive of Corneria, even after they decided to start shipping miniscule amounts of supplies to us again. We've been trying to get back at Corneria for causing almost half of our population to starve, but if we try to attempt a rebellion in our current state they'll retract the supply shipments again… permanently. We've been trying to get Veria to send more supply shipments, but they can't be consistent enough without Corneria thinking they're invading their colony. We're in tough shape."

"Veria?" Joel echoed curiously.

"That's the race that shot your ship down," Skae replied. "I think our Senator would be able to tell you a bit more information. Are you feeling well enough to walk?"

"I guess I could try," Joel grunted, inching closer to the edge of the bed.

"There should be some clothes in there that fit you," she pointed out, gesturing at the closet on the other side of the room as she picked herself off the bed. "I'll be waiting outside, and when you're ready I'll take you to meet with our senator. He's extremely eager to meet you."

"Oh boy," Joel muttered under his breath as Skae slipped out of the room. As soon as the door shut, the human commander did what he was instructed to do – he found some more suitable and comfortable clothing from the closet, and after he piled on about three layers of thick, protective clothing he slipped on his boots and poked his head out of the room. Obviously the she wolf had turned up the heat in his room because as soon as his face stuck out into the hallway, he was blasted by a metaphorical wall of cold air that made him shiver. He threw the hood that one of his jackets came equipped with over his head and shut the door, the click of the door causing the tall wolf's black tipped ears to twitch.

She grinned at the sight of his heavily bundled-up frame and rewound the sky blue scarf around her neck. "I feel sorry for you guys, all that clothing must be heavy."

"It's not enough, believe me," Joel grumbled, stepping out of the hallway and into a rather cozy, yet small looking living room, complete with a few soft looking couches, a table which had his customized M4A1 lying comfortably on the surface, and a window overlooking the intense snowstorm that had sprung up while he was unconscious. "This your place?"

"It is now," Skae answered, zipping her jacket all the way up to her scarf. "This was my parents' house, and when they died I took over. Still isn't the same without them."

"What happened?" Joel asked curiously.

Skae scowled to herself and primed her jet black handgun, the whirring of the motors inside easing her internal anger. "Let's just say Corneria took two lives too many."

Joel grunted in reply, not wanting to press on with the apparent displeasure the wolf was in. Skae exhaled through her nose yet again and stuck the handgun into her holster, and after she slipped on a pair of insulating gloves she transitioned her gaze to the human.

"Stay close," she commanded. "Visibility is pretty bad now. Shouldn't be too rough though – the senator's office is just around the corner here."

"And what do we do when we get there?" Joel questioned.

"Just tell him what your plans were," she answered unfocusedly, preoccupied with slipping a mask over her muzzle. "He'll want to know why it is you humans came here from the commander of the mission himself."

"Alright," Joel added slowly and hesitantly. "May I ask why?"

Skae couldn't keep her smile to herself as she unlocked the front door of her house, that simple action causing a few flurries to seep into the house along with a slight gust of bitter wind that ruffled the fur on her tail.

"Because you humans are the only way to get Corneria to finally snap in half."

* * *

 _Your dreams are sweet and obsessed and you're overworked  
You're overtaken by visions of being overlooked  
How disappointed would D.(dead) I.(idealistic) D.(desperate) I.(inventor) P.(pioneer) P.(philosophers) be  
To see such power in our hands all wasted on greed?  
Am I a prisoner to instincts or do my thoughts just live as free and detached as boats to the dock?  
Just like when music was born and detached from your heart  
Is your free time to free minds or for falling apart?  
Night after night you turn out the light  
You don't fall asleep right away  
Are we, are we done?_

 _A desk to organize  
A product to advertise  
A market to monopolize  
Movie stars to idolize  
Leaders to scandalize  
Enemies to neutralize  
No time to apologize  
Fury to tranquilize  
Weapons to synchronize  
Cities to vapori–_

 _*The Strokes – Ize of the World*_


	7. Brains of the Operation

**S: A/N: Hey guys, thanks for the awesome reception of Haygood. He's already feeling at home, and I can't thank you guys enough. Hopefully you guys looked at his new story _Underground Foxes_ , because it's damn good I must say. Highly recommend you guys check it out.**

 **Anyway, I did plan a more floofier scene for the beginning, but then I scrapped it when I realized I'm terrible at floof. Xengo? Halp plz? Plz?**

 **Regardless of my own inabilities, this update is still a good one, thanks to WhiteWolf again for helping me create what might be my favorite scene yet. I hope you guys enjoy it, and as always, reviews and feedback is welcome. Take care fellas, I'll see you next update!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Brains of the Operation**

* * *

Prime Minister Muzzin smirked to himself when the transmitter wound around his left wrist lit up, signaling that the comms lines were finally in optimal condition. He started screwing with a few of the settings while the green canary continued his story about his experiences with the human soldier.

"I will admit though, once that whole ordeal was over and done with, he would've saved my life if there actually was a bomb in the building."

"Wes trained him well," Kyle remarked with a smile. "For one of the humans we picked up after the FC war, he's quite the skilled fighter. It still amazes me that he's so dedicated to _our_ military, especially after what we did to his kind."

"What did I say about bringing that up, Reeves?" Muzzin growled impatiently. Kyle let out a long breath of air out of his nose in defeat before letting his daughter back down on the ground, and almost instantly she clung to his leg and started giggling.

"Alright, Liz and I are gonna go," he said with a forced smile, trying to pry the female hybrid from his leg. "Someone wants to go see her mom. Let me know if you still need me for anything."

"Okay Kyle, take care," Andersen piped up, giving a small wave at the little girl. "Bye Liz."

The dark brown hybrid Liz giggled back and followed her dad out of the office, tightly holding on to his paw. Once the door shut, Muzzin swiped his paw from his transmitter to the screen on his desk, transferring the holographic HUD to its surface. Andersen cocked his head as Muzzin started poking a few options.

"Who're you calling, Victor?"

"Routine senator checkups," the rusty red wolf answered. "Need to make sure nobody is getting any more supply shipments from Veria. I'm tired of those overgrown lizards influencing _my_ colonies."

Andersen wanted to press further, but upon seeing the glare the lupine was giving his screen he decided that would not be of his best intentions. Muzzin subconsciously punched in a few numbers and selections on his holographic screen, knowing all too well how to get in touch with the senators, and within a few moments a fluffy black and white collie popped up on screen, forcing a smile as he recognized the Prime Minister.

"Oh, Minister Muzzin," the collie exclaimed softly, noticeably fidgeting with his suit. "Is there something wrong sir?"

"No, I just wanted to check up on you," Muzzin explained in the most reassuring voice he could muster. "What with Veria's patrols increasing, I just wanted to see that you and your population is safe. Is everything alright over there Hamilton?"

"Oh, well, thank you sir," the collie said with hesitance. "Veria has actually been supplying us with some air purification systems to help with the arid climate here, so we've been much healthier ever since. Thanks for check–"

"What was that?" Muzzin growled angrily. Senator Hamilton swallowed hard and started stuttering.

"We-we've been getting some extra s-supply shipments from Veria," he said, tilting his large triangular ears behind his head. "We just needed some help with the air quality since a lot of our population started coming down with some respiratory problems, and we needed something to stop it. I was only–"

"I want you to terminate your trade agreement with Veria right now," Muzzin said firmly, curling his eyebrows downward.

"But sir, our population is the healthiest it's been in years," Hamilton explained, grinning widely despite the situation. "What Veria is doing for us is a miracle."

"I don't care," Muzzin nearly snarled. "We have a strict no-trade policy with the Verian Kingdom. They are not allowed to send any supplies to Cornerian governed colonies."

"If we retract our agreement, our people will start getting sick again," the collie tried to explain calmly, but he couldn't control the cracking in his higher-pitched voice. "We can't manufacture these purifiers on our own sir."

"Then you better start researching," Muzzin stated coldly, balling his fists under the desk. "I'm not joking. Kill your trade agreement with Veria."

"But sir–"

"I mean it Senator," the wolf said, baring his teeth slightly. "If I have to I'll designate more Destroyers to patrol Katina to keep Verian supply ships out. I don't want you colluding with the enemy."

"We're not colluding sir," the canine argued, starting to tear up slightly. "They're just trying to help."

"And that help will eventually lead to a takeover, and if you think I'm being harsh, the Verians will be much harsher and brutal once they take over your colony," Muzzin explained with a low growl. "I'm trying to look out for you Senator, and trying to argue the fact that Veria isn't attempting a takeover is very upsetting to me."

"I-I… I'm sorry sir," Hamilton sighed in defeat. "I was only looking out for my people."

"You'll be doing them a favor by telling Veria they are not allowed to influence your colony anymore," the wolf smirked smugly. "Trust me, I'm making sure you and your people are safe."

"Well… t-thank you sir, but…" the black collie sniffed and cocked his head. "How will we keep our air clean without the purifiers? We can't produce these things ourselves because we don't have the right people. We were getting them from Veria since we couldn't make them ourselves."

"I understand," Muzzin replied. "Tell you what… I'll make you a deal. You kill the trade agreement, and next supply shipment I'll send over a scientist that would have no issues in developing an air purifier for your people. He's the one that developed the Arwings if you're familiar with him."

"Vince Stazac?" Hamilton exclaimed with wide eyes. "Oh, thank you sir! Thank you so much!"

Muzzin smiled to himself at the praise, then nodded. "Just promise me you'll kill your agreement and I'll organize a transport for his transfer."

"You've got a deal sir," the collie grinned. "Thank you."

"Just doing what I'm supposed to do," he replied. After a quick goodbye he terminated his link with the senator, and as soon as the holographic image fizzled away he turned to the green canary. "Would you mind organizing a transport for Stazac, Jonathan?"

"Would tomorrow be alright?" Andersen asked, popping up off of the couch.

"The sooner the better," Muzzin smiled. "Just make sure he's got a notice first. I don't know when he's gonna get back, implying he does get recalled."

The canary obliged and slipped out of the room to plan the transport, and as soon as his green tail feathers disappeared behind the doorframe Muzzin started to establish another link, much to his own reluctance.

Muzzin had to stop himself in the middle of punching in another link code to calm himself down. Sometimes he would get so stressed out that he'd have to take momentary breaks to make sure that his blood pressure was at a comfortable level. After a quick few seconds of the wolf punching in commands effortlessly since he had done this countless times before, a familiar sandy brown feline popped up on screen.

"Minister Muzzin," Senator Monroe said unenthusiastically as soon as his face pixelated into a recognizable image. "Let me guess, you're gonna ask how the rebuild of Papetoon HQ is going, right?"

"Actually, no," Muzzin replied, much to the feline's surprise. "I called to ask if you still have any open trade agreements with Veria. I found out just now that Katina still had agreements, and I persuaded Senator Hamilton to shut down their trade routes with Veria."

"Don't they need those trade routes, sir?" Monroe asked. "I mean, weren't they getting air purification systems from Veria?"

"Yeah, your point?" the red wolf asked impatiently.

"They need those purifiers, Muzzin," Monroe replied sternly. "You can't just kill those routes because you don't want Verian involvement on your colonies. If you won't provide for them, someone has to."

Muzzin growled and bared his teeth. "I'm sorry if I don't want my colonies overrun by those overgrown lizards."

"Well I'm sorry that some of us need trade routes with them because we'll die without them," Senator Monroe retorted. "You refuse to send more supplies to us, so Veria is just providing the rest. They at least have compassion."

"You have trade agreements with them too?"

"Since you won't provide a simple water shipment, yes," Monroe answered sourly.

"So you _are_ colluding with the enemy," Muzzin snapped.

"No, we have a legal agreement that allows them to send shipments of water purifiers and condensers to the civilians that can't afford water," Monroe explained.

"Not anymore," the wolf growled again.

"I'm keeping my population alive, Victor."

"You're gonna get them killed if you don't terminate your trade routes," Muzzin warned, anger evident in his expression.

"Like hell I am," the feline shot back. "You're telling me to kill my civilians if I terminate this agreement."

"Don't make me authorize patrol Destroyers to keep Verian supply ships away from your planet, Senator."

"Go fuck yourself," Monroe scoffed stoically, stunning the Prime Minister, and that momentary pause was all the feline Senator needed to terminate the link, leaving the wolf alone in the room with balled fists and seething anger. Muzzin snarled loudly and tossed his office chair away from his desk, nearly slamming it into a nearby bookshelf in the process, and after the noise died down he let his head hang low as his breathing deepened and his claws dug deeper into his desk.

"Peaceful thoughts," he muttered to himself, letting his spike in blood pressure simmer down to healthy levels. He forcefully loosened the dark blue tie around his neck and immediately lifted his transmitter up to his muzzle.

"Is everything alright Minister?" Wes' voice spoke through the device questioningly.

"No," the wolf answered in a low, hostility filled voice. "I need you to organize heightened protection around Papetoon immediately."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I've got the sneaking suspicion that Senator Monroe is colluding with Veria," Muzzin replied, opening and closing his paw slowly to try and ease the blood flow.

"Oh please," Wes chuckled. "You're just paranoid. I know Senator Monroe; he'd never do anything like that."

"Think again, because he is," Muzzin countered. "Reestablish Customs on any major port on the surface, and have them confiscate any unauthorized supplies. If that doesn't dissuade Verian activity, have them arrest any unauthorized personnel."

"Muzzin, I'm not too sure if this is the best idea."

"I'm keeping my colonies secure," Muzzin reminded. "Unless you want another war to fight in I suggest you authorize that heightened protection."

"Understood, Minister," Wes replied, keeping his low growl to himself. "I'll establish them right away."

"Thank you," the wolf replied before terminating his call. He glanced back down at his list of senators to contact, and almost gagged at the name that popped up next.

"Senator Enroth," the wolf spat to himself. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was planning something behind my back.

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Joel couldn't help but shudder, even underneath layer after heavy layer of clothing, but it wasn't because of the cold that he did so. Much to his dismay, the she wolf Skae's house was a fairly long distance away from the Senator's office, and the quickest way to get there was right through the small village's main square, if you could've seen it underneath the thick, heavy snow. The houses lining what Joel suspected was the main street were all constructed of dark wood and insulating materials, with each and every single home housing a brick chimney that had smoke billowing from the top. He could also see multiple pairs of eyes staring out at him through the frost-covered windows, and, honestly, he didn't have any idea how the Fichinian population could survive in this harsh climate, because he was on the verge of freezing after only three minutes outside despite the clothing and passing by the occasional barrel of flames that lined the street, although most of them were just embers at this point.

Joel shuddered again as he saw a few bulky looking white wolves huddling under the overhang of the largest building within a mile's radius, all outfitted with thick protective gear and blocky assault rifles. They stared at the human questioningly, while one of them tightened his hold on the handle of his rifle as the human in question inched ever so closer. Skae stopped short and turned back to face the shivering human, unable to withhold her smug looking smirk.

"Sorry about the snow, it's usually not this bad," she said in a voice that Joel just recognized to be strikingly Finnish, kicking at the high banks. "Our geothermal center was shut down to conserve energy, so our streets are getting covered."

She let out another soft giggle and adjusted her jacket. "We kinda abandoned our shovels after the center was created, so we really don't have a way to clear this up."

"I would've thought they were a necessity around here," Joel said to avoid a silence.

"More people have spears and guns around here than we do that," Skae admitted, glancing up at the cloud covered sky. "Everyone around here is either a hunter or a doctor. I'm a huntress, and I'm also with the colonial militia."

"Know your way with a weapon, I see," Joel remarked.

"If I didn't I wouldn't be here," Skae replied frankly. "I learned my way with a weapon at a young age. My parents taught me before Corneria decided to try and get rid of us."

"What did they even do anyway?" Joel asked.

Skae sighed and lowered her head. "They revoked our food transports because we didn't support the Prime Minister in his position of the war with your kind. We never wanted a war, but we were forced to agree or else we would starve."

"Is that what happened to your parents?"

Skae growled to herself and exhaled through her nose, apparent with the puff of nearly transparent fog that slipped out of her lupine muzzle. The human commander took one step backwards away from her, but right as he attempted another step he heard a familiar canine bark out from a house off to his left.

Joel turned to see Stryker getting his head scratched and patted by a rather slim husky looking creature, clothed in a rather formal set of apparel. His fur color was a very natural mix of a downy white color that matched… well… everything around them, along with a deep, dark coppery color. He shared a faint laugh with the human that just stepped out of the house, which the commander instantly recognized as Eliot.

"Quite the loyal companion you've got, Corporal Sparks," the husky said in a firm, but soft spoken voice with an accent just like Skae had, grinning at the dark furred canine. "Very protective of you."

"Thank you Senator," Eliot replied, surprisingly without a nervous inflection or any hint of doubt. The copper husky stood back up and brushed a few flurries off of his dark suit, then once his eyes locked with the other human his grin enlarged.

"Is this the commander, Miss Rhen?" he asked, slowly stepping down the short set of stairs and into the rather deep snow lining the sidewalks and street.

"Yes sir," Skae replied, giving the human a friendly bump with her elbow. "This is Lieutenant Joel McClellan, the commander of their operation. Joel, this is Senator Lance Enroth."

"It's a pleasure," Senator Enroth said, firmly grasping the human's hand. Everyone knows that a handshake can determine someone's character, and with Enroth's firm, yet friendly handshake, Joel couldn't help but feel relaxed and comfortable around him. Just like Skae, he had no ill intentions towards the human group, and it was a relief knowing that he was the Senator. He had a high-authority figure on his side.

"I would like to apologize for the means we used to get you and your team here," the Senator said right off the bat after he retracted his arm. "When the Verian patrol group told us of your presence, they said it was a Cornerian Destroyer that made landfall. I assume Miss Rhen told you of our displeasure with the Cornerians, correct?"

"I've been informed," Joel answered as Eliot slipped up alongside him, Stryker following with a wagging tail.

"Outstanding," Enroth grinned, cocking his ears as he glanced at his surroundings. "This isn't the best place to have such an important conversation. Please, follow me."

Joel hesitantly obliged and followed the similarly sized copper husky into the building with the two large and bulky wolves guarding the entrance. They stepped aside as the two heavy oaken doors opened, which Joel instantly slipped inside to get the slightest bit of relief from the absolutely bitter climate. Once Skae and Eliot were inside as well, Enroth shook his head to get the flurries out of his fur and turned back to the humans.

"The rest of your team has been briefed already, and they're currently getting some rest in their respective houses," he explained, walking along the wood paneled flooring down to what looked to be a rather decently sized office. "You two are the only ones we haven't explained the situation to."

"What is this plan anyway, sir?" Eliot asked, almost tripping over Stryker.

"Just wait until we have the brains of this operation brief you," he said calmly. "I'm just a piece to this operation just like you are."

"Who is the brains?" Joel asked skeptically.

"Aeon Darkon," Senator Enroth replied with a hint of pride. "A Verian revolutionist. Now, before we go in there, he may not seem like the trustworthy type, but believe me, he knows what he's doing. Just go with it."

Both Joel and Eliot exchanged hesitant and skeptic glances as the husky opened the door to his office. Inside was what looked to be a massive human-like dragon, covered in a thick layer of a midnight black hide. He looked very intimidating, especially because of his size and his stance, standing with a slouch as he stared out the window. He didn't acknowledge the other presence in the room until Enroth himself spoke up.

"Aeon?" he called out, making the dragon's ears twitch. "I've got the human commander."

Darkon let out a grunt of approval as he slowly cranked his body around to face Joel. "Good," he sneered in a gruff, gravelly voice. "Humans. It's great to finally be in your presence. I will just avoid the small talk and get right to business, if you don't mind."

"Please, go on," Joel said with downright petrification of the massive dragon.

"Good," he sneered again. "We all know you want to get back at the Cornerians for what they did to your kind… Heh… very ballsy of you to storm in without an adequate team or adequate supplies."

He didn't allow Joel to reply as he continued, slowly starting to pace the small office. "But, I admire your determination. Me personally, I could give two shits about what happens to Corneria, but after you and your team showed up with a vendetta against Corneria, I knew that this was my opportunity to get my own payback."

Darkon snickered to himself and looked at Joel square in the eyes with his own red eyes. "I have a proposition for you, your team, and the militia of Fichina that will benefit each and every one of us."

"I'm listening," Joel grunted.

"Now, I know your kind is not familiar with the planet Cerinia, so I shall explain. Over five hundred years ago, our kind first discovered this telepathic tribal race, and in order to protect them, we established a protection plan. Because of the aftermath of Corneria's campaign against humanity, Veria and Corneria have locked themselves into a tense cold war, and it will only be a matter of time before they snap. One of the things Veria had to sacrifice to keep from getting into war was to terminate the protection plan, leaving Cerinia completely vulnerable."

Darkon repositioned himself and gave a cold smirk. "Veria is very protective of Cerinia, and if something were to happen to that planet, they would explode in tension and rage. If that happens, we may finally edge the Verian Kingdom into a war with Corneria, and if that happens, you can kiss the Cornerians goodbye."

Aeon stifled a chuckle as he folded his arms. "Here's my proposition. Using one of Fichina's supply vessels, we load up a team of our best soldiers and warriors, and launch a full scale attack on Cerinia while the VGC is nowhere to be found. The Verian officials will blame Corneria because I know what methods Veria will try and use to decipher who launched the attack, and pretty soon we've got those two fighting it out. For you, Commander, you and your team can sit back and watch Veria beat the living piss out of Corneria, while I can raise my army while Veria is fighting and claim the throne."

"A plan that benefits both parties," Joel remarked.

"Exactly," Darkon grinned smugly. "So… what do you say Commander? Do you want to go on a suicide mission and try to attack Corneria directly, or would you rather have the VGC who can easily sweep Corneria under the rug without a moment's hesitation do it for you?"

Joel couldn't help but laugh. "You've got yourself a deal, Aeon."

"Excellent," he chortled, rubbing his hands together. "And I bet your wondering if we're gonna get caught or not. The answer is no, thanks to the senator that is standing behind you."

"Just one second," Enroth blurted out as he lifted his transmitter to his muzzle. "Yes, Minister Muzzin?"

"What's dumbass want now?" Skae grumbled under her breath.

"No, we're perfectly fine over here sir, why do you ask?" the husky continued impatiently, listening to the minister's words spew out at him. "No, we've never had any Verian trade routes… …No, they tried to contact us the other day but I refused… …I would never let them influence me, no…"

Skae couldn't help but giggle to herself at the lies Senator Enroth was spreading. "Yes, sir, I'll be more alert. I've received word that a Verian terrorist has been spotted around my colony, so I'll do anything in my power to try and apprehend him. It may get Veria back on our good side… …Yes, sir… …Understood… …Thank you for the warning… …Goodbye."

As soon as Enroth terminated the call, he let out a sigh of relief and glanced back up at Darkon. "Yeah, I'm gonna make sure that Veria's most wanted terrorist is taken care of."

Darkon snickered and patted the husky's shoulder. "You are a huge help Senator. Without you, our cover would've been blown by now. We need to get this Cerinian operation over and done with before Corneria starts getting any more suspicious."

"Agreed," Senator Enroth said before turning to face the two humans. "You two should get some rest. Darkon wants our transport up in a few hours, as his planning says that Verian patrol routes shouldn't be in the area by then."

"Okay," Joel grunted. "Thank you for this opportunity Aeon. I can't wait to get started."

"Likewise my friend," he remarked as he followed Skae out of the office and back out into the cold. Just as those two were out of the range of the two heavily equipped wolves standing guard on the outside of Enroth's office, Joel sighed and shook his head.

"Do you trust Darkon?"

"Yes," Skae replied instantly. "He's doing a lot to help our cause, because this can benefit him as well. If Veria is busy fighting Corneria, he and his army can take the throne while most of their troops are fighting on Corneria. It's what he wants."

Joel hummed and haphazardly nodded his head.

"He's equipped us well too," she continued. "He intercepted a Cornerian weapons shipment last week for our use, and he's got another deal planned later as well. He'll equip us for this fight, because he knows that if our attack on Cerinia is a success, we can expect that Corneria will get decimated by an enraged Veria. We personally don't have to do the work against Corneria, we can let Veria do the work for us."

Joel nodded in approval and followed the huntress down the snow covered streets back towards her very homely looking abode. She instantly unlocked the door and practically pushed Joel inside, and once the door was shut the human took off a layer of clothing, already soaked by the melting snow. He hung it up on the rack by the small kitchen countertop, and after the she wolf lost her outer jacket she gave a shallow smile to the human.

"You hungry Joel?"

"Sure," he replied, prompting the lupine to nod and slip into the kitchen. She rolled up her sleeves on her long-sleeved shirt and set to work in creating a half-decent meal for herself and the human. Joel slipped away and sat on the far couch, giving him a perfect view to watch the female cook.

As much as he hated to admit it, Skae looked very beautiful. Her curves were still visible even through her protective clothing, and the way that her body was built reminded him of Jordan. He still couldn't believe that she was gone, but the more that he stared at the swishing hips and tail of the Northwestern wolf she seemed to become just a memory in his mind. He did love his soldier, but now that she was gone, there was a hole in his heart that he really needed to fill.

But he wasn't going to fill that hole with a wolf, even if she was beautiful. That would go against everything he's known about the Lylatian race.

Joel noticed that her hypnotic movements were starting to lull him into unconsciousness, and as much as he tried to fight it, he couldn't escape the clutches of sleep. Within moments, he was (pardon the pun) out cold on the couch, sleeping in a calm and serene setting that he almost forgot that existed.

However, he did forget to ask the lupine where the scars on her wrists came from.

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

A cluster of ground combat drones marched through a patch of thick foliage, searching with upmost precision for their target to eliminate it. They searched the bushes, the lower branches of the surrounding trees, even pits and crevices that were big enough to hold a person if needed, but even after they checked every square inch they could find, they still could not locate their target.

Silently stalking the squad of drones, a lone huntress made her way through the high tree branches, keeping herself hidden from view at all times while keeping her quarry in line of sight. She had a little surprise prepared for them, and she smirked to herself as she pulled her rifle off of her back and activated it, causing a quiet, high pitched whine indicating it was charging. She lined up a shot on the lead drone's crimson red painted head, and with a deep inhale she pulled the trigger, the sound of the weapon's discharge deliberately loud enough to catch the other drones' attention as their leader's head exploded into a shower of sparks.

The machines immediately traced her, and as she quickly stowed her rifle and started to leap from tree branch to tree branch they opened fire. She narrowly avoided energy bolts as they streaked behind her, swinging from branch to branch as if her terrain was her backyard. The drones contained to chase after her, launching disorganized and sporadic laser shots in attempts to apprehend their target. The lack of their leader caused the rest of the drones to act on impulse, and this was part of her plan to lead them to an area where she had the advantage.

"Almost…" she whispered behind her closed visor until she saw a few broken sticks on the side of the path she'd left deliberately. Smirking, she shouted, "There!" and quickly jumped to the side and out of sight while the first few drones crossed the marked location. Just as she planned, the first couple drones were suddenly blown apart by what seemed to be a land mine, showering the area in shrapnel and smoke. The rest of the drones stopped short, absolutely confused as to what just happened, and the huntress took their dumbfounded state to her advantage.

The huntress circled around behind the squad and drew a par of grappling guns from her holsters and fired them directly at the two drones towards the back, giving them a sharp yank to wrap the cables around their necks midflight, then with another graceful movement she jumped back using her weight to forcefully pull them into the trees and render them useless. The moment she hit the ground she secured the lines and instantly dashed to the right like a blur as the remaining four drones turned to see their comrades hanging from the tree.

Using the momentary distraction as an advantage, she unfolded her spear and charged, hurling the spear at the two closest oblivious drones. Her spear impaled both of her intended targets, causing them to cease functioning and just remain standing there, unintentionally supporting each other's weight. One of the last two functioning drones turned to face her only to be forcefully disarmed and stabbed in the neck by the huntress' blade. To her dismay, the knife became lodged in the machine after the wires inside were cut, which gave the last drone a perfect shot as it activated its rifle. She didn't let that unfortunate action get under her hide, so reacted on impulse, jumping up and planting her feet on the dead drone's torso, and with one graceful motion she used all the strength her legs could muster and launched herself backward, using the force to send herself crashing into the last active machine. The duo slammed into a tree, the drone going limp as the force of the impact malfunctioned its internal instruments. Panting steadily, the huntress maintained a fighting stance for about a minute afterward before retrieving her long spear and walking off the assault training course.

Up in the observation gallery, Jona watched the huntress do what she did best – hunt, trap, kill and escape – with upmost precision. He couldn't help but smirk at her skill and confidence, not to mention her graceful movements and impressive combat intelligence.

"Atta-girl," he whispered with a smirk.

"She's gotten better," a smooth, motherly voice spoke up from behind him.

Jona nodded instantly. "She has… This was the first time she's run this course without getting hit."

"She's still improving," the voice said from right alongside the gray dragon, startling him slightly. "But as a Spear Guardian, that is a given as they are always adapting to their surroundings and their opponents' tactics and weaponry.

Jona looked to his left to see a silver dragoness next to him, wearing robes that bore the crowned mark of House Salfar. "Why are you hear grandmother?" he asked confusedly. "To see the new bloods train, or to comment on how well my apprentice has grown?"

Queen Izalia Salfar, wife and bondmate to King Xiphos Halrand rarely stepped foot on academy grounds, as her house tended to lean towards non-violent activities such as medical or scientific research. Jona was correct in being confused in her presence in their current location, but all she did was let out a very small grin at his question and curled her tail.

"A bit of both actually," she replied frankly. "I wanted to see this apprentice of yours, the one your father said you were so proud of. Anya Gallows, is it?"

"Yes… Cunning, bright, observant… Perfect as a Spear Guardian…" Jona praised. "But off the battlefield she's a kind hearted young woman, one that I can't help but admire as a sibling."

"You took her as your apprentice when you found her during the last uprising seven years ago, correct?" Izalia questioned.

Her grandson just swallowed hard at that difficult memory. "Yes… her parents were murdered by Darkon's forces… I won't describe what I suspect they did to her mother before they killed her, but I know she witnessed." He took a shallow breath and continued, "I personally watched her kill seven of Darkon's soldiers, using nothing but a piece of sharpened re-bar, a kitchen knife, and traps made of whatever was around her. It was very impressive considering the circumstances."

"And you turned this hardened and prematurely grizzled girl into an elegant and efficient weapon," the queen commented, unable to withhold her smile. "Yet while keeping her soul and kind-hearted nature intact… I'm impressed Jona."

The young male blushed a little at the praise. "Well, I took her in… no one else would, she needed a caring teacher."

"And you did well," she added, turning to walk over to another gallery booth over another training field were a pair were sparing. She instantly showcased a proud expression and glanced over at her grandson. "And how is your parents training going?"

Jona just shrugged. "Well… mom hasn't knocked him to the ground and tried mounting him yet–"

"JONA!" Izalia scolded, and before he could process his next move he received a sharp smack upside his head.

Jona rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, but you know how mom gets with him… it's the reason they try to keep the training at home since now they have this many students watching them."

The queen snorted. "That still doesn't give you the right to air out your parent's dirty laundry!"

"Knocking him down and pinning him by straddling him is a favorite trick of hers," Jona added, smugly smirking to himself. "It lets her feel that she's the one in control. I assume I don't need to explain why."

Izalia shuttered at the sudden pair of painful memories. "No… you don't…"

"I know Talen isn't my real father, but he married mom, he helped raise me, he played with me, he trained me… taught me how to survive… to me Talen _is_ my father regardless of my blood ties."

Jona spoke with such confidence in his voice as if he was reciting an oath. It honestly put a smile on the queen's face seeing her grandson talk in the manner he was.

"I don't care that Yolan Darkon is my biological father, he deserved what he got for what he did to mom," Jona nearly growled. "And if given the chance any of my men and I will bring back Aeon's bleeding corpse. I don't care if he's my paternal brother – he's still an evil bastard, and I can't wait to get my hands on him."

Izalia regarded her grandson with pride – he just openly denounced his paternal bloodline to her without even a second's hesitation. "Talen and Serena raised you well child," she said happily, yet calmly.

Jona grinned. "Mom had a good teacher, both of her parents… my grandparents are heads of their houses as well as our King and Queen… for the last… two thousand years or so?"

Izalia puffed up a little to try and act a little offended at the mention of her potential age. "Let's just watch how your mother does today," she said abruptly, disregarding the larger dragon's question as she turned her head to look down at the sparring ring below. Sparks were _literally_ flying as two competitor's swords clashed together so hard that they were throwing bright yellowing sparks all over the surface of the ring. From the looks of it, the taller copper dragon was forced on the defensive as the smaller sliver-blue female dragon launched strike after strike on him.

Talen tried to exchange blows with the female, but every attack he tried to follow through with was matched swing for swing. She countered his attacks before they even got close, almost as if she had become accustomed to the larger dragon's technique. It would make sense, because the woman he was locking blades with was his wife, Serena Salfar-Falx, Veria's Crown Princess, who he had been training with for the past thirty years. It would only be natural for her to be blocking his assaults without hesitation or confliction. She had become accustomed to his signature style, one that he could not abandon so easily.

He let his mind slip to the past for a split second, which allowed Serena take advantage of it as she used all of her strength to force him back a good few feet before pressing the assault, swinging both swords at an arch to where it seemed she was aiming for his neck. He managed to drop down and roll away just as the blades nicked his mane.

This was how Guardians trained – each training session was treated as a life or death battle, fighting as if they were trying to kill one another. Although they showed enough skill and restraint to stop a killing blow before it harms their sparring partner, they still swung at each other with brutal and lethal force.

After Talen rolled away, the silver and blue dragoness shifted back into a stance, one sword forehand the other backhand, all the while keeping a smug smirk creased across her snout.

"Damn Serena!" Talen shouted, grounding one of his swords as he ran a few claws through his copper mane, feeling it was (pardon the pun) a hair shorter than it was just a moment ago. "Getting a little close, aren't we?"

The opened aired training arena allowed for a gentle breeze to blow though and catch the fabric of the tunic of her training garb and flailed it softly along with her long shimmering hair. "Just practicing what you taught me love," she chuckled back, clearly enjoying their training. "After all, this is a demonstration to the academy on what the cadets could become if they chose to." She suddenly rushed him, swords poised to strike.

Talen quickly collected his blade and rose just in time to block the first blade and effortlessly deflect the second. "Is this because of the other night?!" he questioned hoarsely, dodging another of his wife's swings. "I told you I'm sorry! I know I missed out on the dinner you prepared for us–" he cut himself off momentarily to raise his blade up to parry a rather nasty downward slash. "And I know it was our anniversary, but your father insisted that I deal–" he ducked under yet another attempt to behead him. "With the problem sooner rather than later!"

Serena then gave a knowing smirk, one that Talen knew all too well. "What makes you think this is about the other night?" she asked rather smoothly, trying to jab at his shoulder. "Granted I'm still pissed at you about that."

"Oh shit," was all Talen could muster before his wife unleashed a fury of slashes, which Talen actually managed to block or deflect all of them. The movement of both fighters was so quick they were almost like blurs, but both of them knew exactly what to do and how to do it. The last move was the one that Talen always fell for when it came to Serena – she allowed Talen to get a swing near her, and without a moment of hesitation she dodged it and instantly tackled him to the ground, straddling his hips and lap with her swords crossed at Talen's neck like a pair of razor sharp scissors ready to cut a plastic straw in half.

"Gotcha," she mocked him with a grin. She was poised for the kill, and he knew it.

Talen just laid back and let the cool metal cool his neck. "Sometimes dear… I think you actually _do_ try to kill me."

She leaned forward to put a little more pressure on the blades as she gave him a gentle kiss on the tip of his snout. "And why would I do that… I still haven't even had your child," she said with such an unnoticeable whine in her tone that he almost missed it. "And besides, I would never kill you… you're my husband and mate after all." She stood up, carefully pulled the swords away from her husband's neck, and then preceded to help him up. "Oh…" she added, giving one last gentle press of the blade against his neck. "And you owe me dinner."

"Anything for you my lady," he laughed right back at her, surprised that she controlled herself pretty well. Even Izalia herself was rather impressed with their demonstration as the duo proceeded to walk away from the ring.

"Mom, seven… Dad, zero," Jona remarked mirthfully, watching Serena slip under Talen's arm as they walked back to the barracks. "For your daughter she's quite the skilled fighter."

"As I can see," Izalia replied. "Even I didn't anticipate her becoming as talented as she is."

"Wow, that's a first," Jona said under his breath, and to his dismay his grandmother heard him.

"Jona…" she cooed slowly in an attempt to guilt him. "You know how I feel about that sarcasm of yours."

"I know, I'm sorry," he replied, folding his ears back.

"I don't even know where you picked that up," Izalia mumbled. "Sure wasn't from me or your mother."

"And I'm sure you don't want me to mention the most likely answer," Jona added, which to that the queen nodded.

"Message received," the queen grunted back, turning to face the sparring ring once again. "Your father doesn't look like he's done yet."

"No, he's actually testing the Cornerian instructor to see if he's a good match for special operations."

Izalia was pleasantly surprised, characterized by her widened eyes and slight grin. "Ah, so he's looking to serve the VGC, is that it?"

"As far as I know he is," Jona answered, stepping up to the glass. "After we let him seek asylum from Corneria's persecution here, he's been nothing but cooperative with us."

"I can't blame him," Izalia admitted. "He did nothing wrong, and Corneria wants to persecute him. I'm glad you gave him a call after the war was over."

Jona chuckled slightly. "That one little call turned into a trustworthy friendship. Besides my parents and my apprentice, he's the only one I can trust in combat."

"It's always good to have a reliable ally on the battlefield," Izalia remarked.

Jona nodded and began to trot away from the glass. "I should probably prep Wolf for this match."

"Tell him I wish him the best of luck," the queen said, showcasing a small grin. Jona nodded again in acknowledgement, and without another moment of hesitation he slipped out of the observation deck and down to the sparring ring.

Wolf sat against the wall with his paws folded and his head resting in the folds of his arms. Jona knew this stance all too well – it was how he prepped for any tough engagement. Whether it be routine training or a stiff competition such as the one he was about to engage, he would always find his inner Zen to bring out every ounce of his competitive nature that was seemingly masked in ordinary situations. Clothed in just a pure white tank top and some rather thin and flexible combat pants, he seemed ready for his engagement, but as soon as he lifted his head up due to the sound Jona's boots created on the concrete floors, the dragon knew that he was nervous.

"Going toe-to-toe with your dad just to get me out of the academy for a few days…" Wolf sighed, watching Jona inch ever so closer to his crumpled up frame. "You my friend… are insane."

Jona snickered and countered quickly. "No, the guy we need you to eliminate is insane… He probably intends to throw us into another civil war while we're already on the verge with the rest of Lylat." The silver shield guardian locked his jaw together and growled for a moment. "I cannot allow that… I _will_ _not_ allow that."

"So killing this guy should prevent a war, huh?" Wolf asked with a hint of self-pride, to which Jona nodded. "Alright… time to play the hero again."

As Wolf unfolded his frame and started to head for the sparring ring Jona stopped him in his tracks by placing a hand over his shoulder. "Hey, just be careful," he said calmly, giving him some much needed assurance like he had done before. "My dad may seem lightweight against my mother, but she trained with him so much that she knows every trick that he has. He'll come after you with every little bit of strength and speed he has left. My grandfather didn't make him Commandant just because he married my mother."

Wolf paused for a brief moment, and with the quick crack of his neck he nodded. "Noted and understood," he responded, inching closer to the training ring. "Time to prove that I haven't lost my touch being in a classroom for years on end."

On the other side of the ring, Serena was giving Talen's neck a quick rub after the assault she put on him. "Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked, showing signs of concern and worry. "I mean, he is one of our instructors. What if you hurt him?"

"He was a mercenary," the copper dragon responded quickly, enjoying the rather effortless massage his wife was giving his tense and worn neck. "He's not fragile in the slightest. Jona recommended him for the mission that your father and I are planning, and he actually gave him a quick rundown before dragging his fuzzy ass down here. Turns out he's eager to get back into combat, and in our position, we need him like that." He gave a slow and worrisome sigh after a brief pause, a sigh that wasn't unnoticed.

"Talen?" the silver-blue dragoness asked, concern evident in her voice and expression. "What's going on?"

He looked up though the open ceiling and gazed up into the Verian sky. "We learned that Aeon has an arms deal on Papetoon in a few days, and Jona suggested Wolf as the man to take him down."

"Papetoon?" Serena balked a little. "But they're friendly to us. Wouldn't they–"

"Not without it seeming like an invasion, no," he interrupted. "The supply transports already make Muzzin paranoid. Sending even a small squad would throw him over the edge, and would start this war. The soldier we send has to be a Cornerian… and we only have two… so Jona picked Wolf because of his mercenary experience and tactical training."

She couldn't help but smile, as her son was always a keen eye when it came to choosing capable fighters. A prime example was his apprentice Anya, he took her under his wing and helped her refine her technique. She honestly regarded the small apprentice with respect, as someone of her age and size should never have to be in the position she is, but she has skill, skill that shouldn't be wasted.

"Our son is a good judge of skill," Serena smiled. "He knows it when he sees it."

"He does," Talen agreed, and upon seeing the gray wolf standing with the dragon in question, he gently pried the dragoness away from his neck. "Now, let's see if Wolf is as good as Jona says he is." He turned and gave his wife a gentle peck on the snout as he walked to meet Wolf in the ring.

"Commandant Talen," Wolf grinned, stepping away from Jona and up into the boundaries of the sparring ring. "Jona has always told me that you're quite the skilled fighter, but are you prepared to meet your match?"

"Easy, O'Donnell," Talen sneered calmly, assuming his fighting stance as he gazed up and down the large wolf's muscular frame. "Confidence is one thing, but skill is another."

"Good thing you're looking as someone who has some," Wolf countered, letting his right leg hang back a few inches so that he could get a few inches closer to the ground. Wolf was sizing up his opponent – Talen didn't appear to be much, but from what he knew from personal experience, appearances can be deceiving, _especially_ with Verians.

Talen did the same with Wolf, but the only difference was he regarded the lupine with caution. He personally had nothing against Cornerians in general, and as a matter of fact he believed that they had a rich culture like they did. It was just that if their Parliament would get their heads out of their asses and let their people explore that culture, he would regard them with upmost respect. Wolf was an exception, he tried to fight against that years ago, but that didn't take away from Talen's eventual skill he would throw at the lupine. He wanted a fight, he'd sure as hell get one.

"So, Wolf…" Talen said slowly, unable to withhold a smirk as he eased into a fighting stance, both fighters using nothing but their bare knuckles. "My son has said nothing but good things about you, and has praised you for your abilities as a soldier… I've been looking forward to fighting you… Let's see what you've got."

Wolf cracked his knuckles loudly and gave his dominant muscles a good stretch before lowering himself in a stance of his own. "Likewise Commandant," was all he said, giving Talen a good impression of his mentality during a tense competition.

Talen made the first move as he rushed towards Wolf to try and throw him off balance from the start, but when he launched his first wide right hook Wolf nimbly avoided it by ducking and juking to the left. He used the slip counter to his advantage and threw a heavy punch of his own, right into Talen's sciatic nerve sending a shock though his body and causing him to momentarily freeze, giving Wolf a brief moment to put some distance between them.

"Not bad," Talen grunted, and without another word he bolted to the attack once again, unleashing a barrage of punches. Wolf was able to catch some of them, others made though connecting with his face, muzzle, chest, and even one that was hard enough to almost dislocate his shoulder, but he managed to tank every shot. Right as he was going to launch his own nasty hook Talen spun low and used his tail to sweep his feet out from under him. "But you got to do better than that," he sneered, listening to the Wolf's heavy breathing as he laid on the dirt gasping for breath.

Not letting the fact that the copper dragon had the upper hand on him, Wolf got right back up after a momentary pause and cracked his neck once again. "It'll take more than that to keep me down," he growled, folding his arms towards his torso as he sprang into action. Just as before, he ducked under another of Talen's reckless swings and jabbed at the nerve again, then followed up with a sharp uppercut, the sound of smacking hide echoing within the open-aired ring. To add insult to injury, Wolf utilized his uncommonly high athleticism and launched a rather powerful roundhouse kick connecting with Talen's hard skull, sending him to the ground in a daze.

"Jona always said you were a sucker for speed," Wolf taunted, flicking his ears and tail. "Was that good enough for ya, or do I still need to knock a little more sense into ya?"

Wolf unknowingly tipped a wire inside Talen's head, and in normal circumstances he would come up with another witty remark for Wolf's taunts, but instead he launched another offensive strike. Wolf nearly ducked under a nasty kick at his head, but it just nicked enough of his skull to throw his equilibrium off, and before he could process his next mode he received a brutal blow to his stomach with Talen's dominant hand, causing him to double over as waves of pain reverberated through his torso. He managed to pop his arm up to block another hard strike, but wasn't quick enough to evade another blow to his chest, this time with Talen's foot. Wolf was sent sprawling backwards, but managed to roll over his shoulder and use the momentum to spring back onto his feet, his claws digging into the dirt to keep his balance. Talen let out a low whistle as Wolf panted from exertion.

"Quite an agile puppy, aren't we?" Talen wittily taunted, ridding his arms of the lupine's thick shedding fur. "I like that."

"Tell that to your wife," Wolf grumbled, dusting his pants off of the powdery dust that covered the fabric. Talen couldn't help but smirk as he regained his stance yet again.

"My wife at least has the skill to guard against a Guardian's strength," Talen remarked, letting his smug smile surface amidst the glare that he was giving the lupine. "Let's see if you've got that skill."

"Believe me," Wolf grunted, inching ever so closer, launching a few weak jobs with his left arm to try and size the larger dragon up. "I know a few things, especially how to deal with a stronger opponent–" He ducked under Talen's signature hook, countering with a flurry of jabs directed at his snout and chest that made Talen stagger backwards slightly. "You see, a stronger opponent tries to use the strength to his advantage, trying to put down his opponent by brute force." Talen again tried to launch a heavy hand, which was yet again blocked by the lupine, showcasing a grin as he fought to keep his arm restrained from trying to attack again. "The smaller opponent will use the size disadvantage to his advantage." With that, Wolf slung his arm around the copper dragon's and caught him off guard, and without a moment of hesitation Wolf harshly flipped the larger dragon onto his back, instantly stepping away from the cloud of dust that ensued from his heavy frame impacting the ground. "Shall I educate you more, or have you had enough of a Cornerian's lecturing for today?"

"Oh you're fucked now," Talen growled, jumping back to his feet and trying to shake the stars and blurriness from his mind, just in time to see Wolf coming in for another strike. His reflexes kicked in and dodged the attempted blow, then immediately countered by grabbing him by the throat and forcefully driving him into the dirt – a Guardian's signature takedown – knocking the wind out of him and sending a powerful shock though his body.

"Alright," Wolf wheezed, feeling Talen's claws threaten to break skin under Wolf's short neck fur. "I… I give…"

"Damn…" Talen breathed, cringing because of his throbbing head and aching back. "That was… ten minutes… and you've actually got me hurting… I never would've guessed."

"So…" Wolf groaned out, unable to continue his assault further. "Did I get the job?"

Talen smirked to himself as he removed his vice grip from the lupine and stood up, and after dusting his uniform off he outstretched his hand to the lupine, who accepted after another agonized moan. Once the wolf was up to his feet, he outstretched his hand yet again.

"Yeah…" Talen smiled, giving the wolf a firm handshake. "You got the job."

Right as Wolf was about to pull away, Talen tightened his grip and let a serious expression surface.

"Don't make me regret doing it."

* * *

 _You can say it any way you wanna  
You can frame it any way you can  
But I can tell you I've read the fine print  
Written by your steady hand  
You can say it any way you wanna  
You can frame it any way you can  
What's behind your good intentions?  
On your heart a hidden hand_

 _Just a little bit of faith is what I want  
It's what I need in my institutions  
So I wait so patiently  
When it happens  
Over and over  
Can we hear it?  
Yeah let's hear it  
For the whistleblower_

 _*Arkells – Whistleblower*_


	8. Crimson Ghosts

**S: A/N: Welp, this was not what I intended to do with this chapter, but in all honesty I like this more. I think you guys will feel the same.  
**

 **Also, never mind Xengo, I got it. I'm okay. I'm good... at least I think I am. I don't know; please tell me if this is convincing or not. *shrug***

 **Another note, if you guys like Jona, go ahead and check out John Storm's new story _"Long Lost Love",_ a collab between him and my partner WhiteWolf. Jona is one of the main characters, and I like where that story is going already despite being only one short chapter at the moment. He also used a bit of _Veria_ 's information, which got me to smile I will admit. Seriously guys, go check it out. It's pretty good. **

**Lastly, for those who don't know, I'm hosting a little one-shot contest starting in a few days, and I've still got room for more participants. There are details about the topic and rules and such either on the forum related to this topic (link can be found on my bio) or on the update story _Studio Productions_. I've already got over ten people participating (notable entries being Xengo, K.S. Reynard, Elarix, Sanitarium, and many others) plus myself and Haygood. If you're interested, please feel free to jump in. The contest starts August 1st, so you don't have much time.**

 **That'll do it from me. Hope you enjoy this update, and please tell me what you think of it. I'm all for feedback as you all are probably aware of already. Take care fellas - I hope to see you guys in the contest. I'm excited for it already!**

* * *

 _Get dressed, jump out of bed and do it best  
Are you okay?  
I've been all around this town  
Everybody's singing the same song for ten years_

 _I'll wait for you  
Will you wait for me too?  
And they sacrifice their lives  
In our land are all closed eyes  
They've said it a billion times and they'll say it again  
So long my adversary and friend_

 _*The Strokes – Under Cover of Darkness*_

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Crimson Ghosts**

* * *

With the technology Corneria left behind in the oceans, mountains, and farmlands of Earth, it would only be natural for ingenuity to expand for the humans.

Only this time, they didn't just expand on the surface of the planet in question.

They expanded outward.

Hundreds of thousands of miles above sea-level sat humanity's very first orbital military base, the _Torus_ , comfortably gliding in the gravitational pull of Earth and the Sun. _Torus_ is an incomplete project, only consisting of one functioning docking bay and the bare basics of sustaining life on a man-made orbital base. However, the base in question is absolutely massive, spanning the area equivalent of New York City… and not just downtown or uptown. The one functioning docking bay was large enough to hold over ten separate cargo freighters or military cruisers, and the size of the base itself could hold just under fifty thousand soldiers.

 _Torus_ is the start of Earth's Defense Ring project, an attempt by the United Nations to encircle the entire planet with military personnel in case of a Cornerian reengagement. _Torus_ is only a small segment overseeing the eastern seaboard of the United States, but small is a loosely defined term considering its immense size and architecture. Another segment dubbed the _Stahlburg_ is current under construction on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, safeguarding most of Europe and the northern part of Africa. There are plans to link both bases together, as well as adding bases over Japan and one over the Pacific United States, but for now the main focus is to make the current bases operational.

Hundreds of thin radio and transmissions towers as tall as skyscrapers lined the narrow, elongated station, eliminating the need for satellite connectivity, while thousands of receptors on the underside allowed the station to connect with every single person on the surface. It was one giant satellite doubling as the largest military base on… or in this case, _above_ Earth.

The structure itself started out as a slim horizontal foundation, with the ports for docking being added on to the base towards the surface. Living quarters, satellite imagery and receptors, training grounds, and construction bays were added on later, essentially creating the first orbiting colony.

The Defense Ring was a massive scale project, with high expectations and overwhelming positives if, and when completed, and with such a huge project, it needed a huge head behind it all.

As soon as General Todd McClellan stepped onto the main communications bridge, all fifty or so communications officers sprung up and gave their salute to their superior officer.

"At ease boys," Todd chuckled, stepping closer to the main controller. "Anything?"

"No, sir," the soldier replied. "The _Great Fox_ should have made landfall yesterday. Nothing is coming through communications wise."

Todd growled softly and rubbed his face. "Do you even have a reading on the ship?"

"Yes, the ship is still transmitting sir," he answered. "She hasn't answered any communication attempts, however."

"Where's the ship?"

The controller paused as he brought up a map of Lylat, the ship's red dot flashing on an all too familiar planet. "Fichina, sir. They've made landfall."

"I was afraid of that," Todd grunted, inching closer to the screen. "Can you tap into any nearby comms lines?"

"I can try," the controller hesitantly answered, followed by the sound of a tapping keyboard. Moments later, elation washed over the controller searching for a new output. "I found a signal sir. Intergalactic transmissions services. Military grade lines."

"And can you tap in?"

"No sir, the lines are coded very well. Whoever is running these lines, they don't want anyone tapping in to get information."

Todd backed away and sighed loudly, but as he attempted to walk away that same controller was back to speaking.

"Wait, sir, I've picked up something," he said swiftly, trying to be urgent in his explanation. "I've found a match between the frequencies of a supposed spam message and a transmissions line on the surface of Fichina. Same serial on both the message and the line."

"A message?" Todd grunted. "When?"

"Just a few hours ago sir," the controller replied.

Todd showed a faint smile and used his stolen Cornerian transmitter to display the message the controller was referring to by swiping his hand from the screen to the transmitter. He stared at the small holographic screen and read the message intently, reacting accordingly to the situations explained by his son.

 _Hey dad, I'm alright. The landing could have been a bit smoother, but my team and I are alright. I've got some good news and some bad news. Bad news first, we didn't assume control of the base. In fact… we never even came close. However, the good news is that we've got a greater army. The Fichinian Militia, and even the Senator himself is supporting our team, and we're currently on our way to launch our first strike. This may seem insane, but trust me, this is good for us._

 _I've also got some even greater news. We personally don't have to attack Corneria. There is a race just on the outskirts of Lylat that are much more advanced than the Cornerians, and with the plan that the Senator and an old friend have conceived, we can turn that race against Corneria, and they will do our job for us. We can sit back and watch._

 _However, I'd still love your help. After our preliminary assault, I'll send another message to you, and that will be your cue to send the reinforcements. It won't have to be much – maybe just one full Destroyer. The Fichinian Militia is over two hundred strong, and they're well trained as well. I don't have any worries, and neither should you._

 _Tell mom I'm okay as well. It's cold over here, but I'm okay. See you soon dad. –Joel_

"I'll be dammed," Todd muttered, a smirk creasing his lips. "He's alright. The mission… while being completely changed… was a success."

The room erupted into howls of cheer and applause as the General started laughing to himself in disbelief.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered again, smiling widely as he slowly made his way to the window. "This operation will be easier than I thought."

He turned to the main controller and poked at the docking bays through the window. "Keep one cruiser on standby. I want to be ready when Joel gives me the signal."

He smirked again and glanced at the window once more.

"And make sure we've got a few presents for those Cornerian bastards on board."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

The sound of his transmitter vibrating and buzzing like a jackhammer on his nightstand caused Fox to be jerked out of his restful slumber prematurely. He let out a soft, but angry groan of displeasure and tried to move his arm to silence the annoyance, but realized that both of his arms were restrained by two black and fuzzy appendages, tightly wrapped around his arms and chest. He managed to pry one of his arms from Arcene's grasp and smacked at his transmitter, causing it to slide off of the nightstand and clatter against the hardwood floor of his bedroom, silencing the reverberating vibrations in the process.

The clatter of his transmitter awoke the vixen wrapped around him, evident by the soft feminine grunt and quiet, breathy howl she let out as she retracted her arms. However, all she did afterward was roll over to face the window of the bedroom and inadvertently rubbed her soft tail across Fox's exposed back, giving him a bit of a chill at the tickling sensation. He rubbed a bit of sleep out of his eyes as he gently pushed back the covers, making sure not to remove them from the vixen who was trying to fall back asleep.

Fox sat up and shook his head slightly, flailing his floppy ears as he tried to wake himself up completely, then afterward he flung his legs over the bedside, his digits clicking against the hardwood bedroom floor. Before he stood up, he cranked his body around just enough so that he could plant a tender kiss on Arcene's fluffy cheek, the vixen subconsciously purring in reply. Fox grinned and bent down to retrieve his transmitter that he carelessly threw to the floor, and upon seeing a message from Vince he cocked his ears.

 _Agency called late last night, thought you'd like to know that you and Arcy don't have to show up for another hour or so. Also, when you show up at HQ, find me ASAP. There's something extremely important that I need to tell you in-person.  
P.S: I took Jake to the day care for ya. You're welcome. :)_

Fox nearly laughed out loud at the face Vince left at the end, but he couldn't help but feel confused. He appreciated the extra hour of down-time, but what did Vince need to tell him that was so important?

"Who was that?" Arcene mumbled incoherently, stretching her arms out by the headboard.

"Vince," Fox unfocusedly answered back. "We've got an extra hour before we need to head out."

"Oh, that's cool," she said happily, throwing her half of the covers down by her feet. She sat up and slid back to press her backside against the headboard, feeling her tail start to flick and wag when she could process the orange vulpine's exposed white downy ventral fur. Fox noticed her expression and gave her a smug smirk.

"What?" he questioned, folding his arms after he set his transmitter back on his nightstand.

"You are just too cute," she cooed, pawing at her tangled and frizzed hair.

"So are you," Fox said confidently, throwing himself back onto his bed. Arcene giggled and gave her own kiss on the vulpine's cheek, then almost immediately afterward she popped out of bed and stretched her arms yet again.

"I'm gonna go take a shower," she announced as she wrapped her paw around the handle to the small bathroom attached to Fox's bedroom, then let a seductive grin surface as she turned to face him again. "You're welcome to join me if you'd like," she added, giving all the sensual notion the vulpine needed.

Almost as if a switch was activated in his head, his eyes shot wide open as both his ears and tail started twitching and flicking respectively. Arcene giggled in satisfaction as Fox stood up and slowly followed the vixen into the rather cramped bathroom, but Fox didn't care about space in this current time. All he wanted to do was take the silver vixen up on her offer.

 **\/~~◊~~\/**

It was roughly twenty minutes or so since their extremely passionate shower, and now that the two foxes were both clean and satisfied, they were currently sitting on the largest couch in Vince's living room, with Arcene doing everything in her power to stay pressed up against Fox's fluffed up fur. Both of them were wearing their usual getup, Fox in his cotton V-neck and cargo pants, and Arcene in her tied-up tank-top and tight leggings. They were both staring intently at the TV, waiting for the usual string of advertisements to finish up.

Fox wrapped his arm around her shoulders, clamping his paw gently around her upper arm, and pulled her in closer, meriting a low and soothing purr from the sliver vixen in question. Fox grinned to himself and continued to feel her own soft and silky fur, but eventually broke the shared silence with a rather soft spoken, yet calm and collected voice.

"Ya know Arcy," he started, drawing her even closer if that was physically possible. "Next time… I think we should be more careful."

"What do you mean?" she asked, cocking her head at the vulpine.

Fox sighed and interlocked his fingers with hers. "Well, if I get you pregnant, the CDF won't train or deploy you. I don't want to take away from what you love to do."

"Fox," she started, using her other paw to gently rub Fox's arm. "It would make me the happiest girl alive if I could start your family. I don't care if I have to sacrifice my training. You matter more."

"But I'm not sure if we're ready for that," Fox admitted, lowering his ears. "I mean, we've both got our entire lives ahead of us. We're not married yet, and to be honest, I–"

"Yet?" Arcene echoed, widening her eyes as she scooted away to more comfortably face him.

Fox flushed and forced his ears to shoot straight up. He let it slip.

"No, I-I-I mean, I… er…" Fox stuttered, causing the vixen to giggle to herself. "What I meant was… I… uh…" Fox let out a sigh of defeat and let his ears fold back again. "I give up. I'll admit it… Arcy, I–"

"You want me to marry you?" she asked almost silently, her voice starting to get bubbly again.

Fox exhaled again and nodded. "So much for keeping that secret," he muttered.

"Fox," the vixen smiled, unable to withhold her excitement. "I'd love to. I'd like nothing more than to be with you."

"But… again, I don't think we're ready for it yet," Fox repeated frankly. "We're both still young, ya know? I don't want to force you into something so soon, and then not have it work out in the long run. Don't get me wrong Arcy, I love you to death, but… it might be too soon."

"I understand," Arcene nodded. "We won't rush it if we don't have to. You're right, we've still got our entire lives ahead of us."

She tightened the grip on his paw and grinned yet again.

"Whenever you decide to ask, you can bet on my answer being yes," she assured, leaning forward to peck the side of his muzzle. "I love you to death too Fox. Whenever you think you're ready."

"What did I do to deserve someone like you?" he blurted out as she finally released his paw.

Arcene couldn't help but giggle. "I could ask the same thing to you."

The orange tod shrugged. "I don't know… All I know is that I'm glad I lost that wrestling match two years ago."

Arcene giggled out loud again. "You lost that on purpose, remember?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Just think what would happen if you won," she said in a soft spoken voice, almost as if she was imagining the scene in question in her head. "You might not have made that first move, and we might not even be together. To be honest Fox, I didn't know what I was thinking when I kissed you for the first time, but… I'm glad I did."

"I'm glad you did too," Fox smiled again. "For all we know I could be kissing someone else right now."

"And I'm glad you're not," the silver vixen cooed, planting another kiss on Fox's cheek. Fox returned the favor, starting to get heated up inside, and right as he thought his passions and lust would overtake him yet again, Arcene gasped and pointed at the TV screen.

Pictured was a Cornerian Destroyer, a patrolling model to be specific, docked at Corneria's Riverside Military Base – almost a five hour drive south from HQ. The battle scarring and singe marks all over the surface of the ship were strikingly worrisome to the vulpines, especially with the headline "Papetoon Attempts Rebellion" written above the ticker for the local sports scores and weather reports.

"…mage and gouges on the ship signifies that it had been fired upon, and the crew of the Escort Class _Meteora_ pictured here say that their vessel was attacked by a swarm of Papetoonian Skorpions, a brand new type of vertical take-off and landing rotary aircraft designed by the Papetoon Self Defense Force. Reports from the crew state that they were attempting a landing at Papetoon's main trading dock at Prime Minister Muzzin's request, only to be forcefully driven off by members of the PSDF's elite squadron known as the Crimson Ghosts, headed by ex-Cornerian Covert Operations Lieutenant William O'Donnell. Research shows that the Crimson Ghosts are Senator Monroe's go-to squadron after many members of the squadron left the CDF at the conclusion of the First Contact war."

"They didn't want to fight…" Fox muttered under his breath, feeling a scenario play back in his head while the news reporter kept speaking.

"Prime Minister Muzzin has already authorized Cornerian customs agents on every major port on the desert colony, and he even had a few comments to say after the news had been leaked."

The screen quickly transitioned to the familiar rusty red wolf, practically swarmed by cameras and reporters while many bulky agents tried to keep their Minister safeguarded. Muzzin's face was obviously showcasing visible anger, characterized by his flared fur and contracted muzzle, but his voice was rather calm considering the circumstances.

"The situation with Papetoon is becoming a more immediate threat than Verian activity," he announced over the roar of people. "We are trying to keep the LHC intact, but with Papetoon's hostile and antagonistic actions, I'm afraid we may have our first open declaration of independence from a Cornerian colony. I assure you, I will do my best to try and keep our coalition secure."

"Like hell you will," Fox grumbled as the broadcast switched back to the familiar female collie from the last broadcast he watched.

"All attempts to contact Senator Monroe have been unsuccessful, and some speculate he is trying to isolate himself before his presumed independence declaration. General Wes Jaeger of the CDF assures that Minister Muzzin will uphold his word, and will do everything in his power to keep the alliance free from fractures. This is Kelly Greene signing off from Riverside, Corneria – we'll keep you posted with updates when they become available to us."

Fox immediately powered the television off and transitioned his gaze to the gapping muzzle of Arcene. "We're splitting up…"

"No, Fox, did you hear?" she interrupted, drumming her paws on his arm quickly. "Did you hear the name?"

Fox cocked an eyebrow, but before she could press further it hit him like a baseball bat upside the head.

"O'Donnell…" he mumbled in disbelief. "Wolf's family…"

"No… no no no this has to be a coincidence," Arcene interrupted again. "Wolf doesn't have a family, remember?"

"He was abandoned," Fox corrected. "His family deserted him… Wolf's _actual_ family is on Papetoon."

"And is the leader of this Crimson Ghosts group," Arcene added. "Whoever this _William_ is… he's working with Senator Monroe with this revolution."

"Heh, looks like being Corneria's bad guy runs in the family," Fox chuckled.

"Fox, seriously," Arcene whined, popping up from the couch. "Wolf needs to know."

"The only way to do that is to go over there," Fox explained. "Corneria blocks comms lines from going that far out of the system. Veria doesn't – Wolf would be able to call me, but I can't call him."

"Someone needs to tell him," Arcene continued, to which the orange vulpine stood up and hushed her.

"I know, babe, I know," Fox said silkily, sending pleasurable shivers down the sliver vixen's spine. "We'll worry about that later… but right now we both need to get to HQ."

Arcene nodded and pecked the vulpine's muzzle before backing away. "Then what are you waiting for?" she taunted, her tail flicking wildly.

Fox pinched himself to keep his hormones under control as he swiped the keys from the coffee table and followed the vixen out into the garage. It wasn't long before Fox was out on the open road, and it wasn't too long after that when they found themselves pulling into the parking lot of the HQ building.

Fox dropped Arcene off at her respective end of the HQ with an obligatory kiss, and after slipping into his parking space he quickly grabbed his lab coat from the trunk of his car and started walking towards the main entrance while slipping his arms through the sleeves. He did his usual routine of saying hi to the receptionist as he clocked himself in, then immediately trotted down the hallway towards the lab spaces. He walked down with a bit more speed, as Vince was usually not one to say that he needed to speak with someone immediately. Whatever it was, it was urgent.

Fox slipped inside the main lab and instantly saw Vince leaning against the left wall, his face almost buried in his transmitter. The orange vulpine grinned and stepped towards him, but his grin faded once he saw two suitcases on either side of the arctic fox's frame, both bearing tags with his name on it.

Vince heard the clatter of Fox's boots on the floor and let out a sigh before Fox could question, still not looking up from his transmitter screen. "Hey Fox. Thanks for getting here so quickly."

"It's… not a problem," Fox replied slowly, cocking an eyebrow at the suitcases. "What's up?"

Vince finally showed his eyes, bloodshot due to evident lack of sleep and tinted red as if he had been crying. "Fox…" he started, beginning to choke up slightly. "I… I'm leaving."

Fox felt his stomach drop as a quiet hiccup left the fox's muzzle. "What? What do you mean?"

Vince sighed again and kicked at one of his suitcases. "I've been re-stationed," he said tersely in a noticeably faltering voice. "I'm being relocated to Katina to help build their own air purification systems… and… I don't know when I'll get back."

Fox's heart practically snapped. Vince had been with him for years, being that fatherly figure that he had lost when he was a teenager. Although he had taken a few brief vacations away from home, something like this was unprecedented. He never had to leave for an indefinite amount of time. Fox was shocked to say the least.

"Will I ever see you again?" he asked on impulse, feeling a tear well up in his eye.

"Of course," the arctic fox chuckled in an attempt to lighten the mood. "I… I just don't know when."

Fox wiped the stray tear away and took a step closer, but Vince already took the initiative and lunged forward, wrapping his arms around the taller vulpine. Fox was surprised at Vince's strength this time around as the arctic fox clutched at the taller vulpine's coat, but he honestly didn't care at the moment. He had to restrain himself from sobbing as he too wrapped his arms around the white fox, embracing him tightly, but gently.

"I'm gonna miss you so much," Fox squeaked out, breathing heavily to try to stop himself from crying.

"I will too kiddo," Vince choked over his own emotions. "I'll come back as soon as I can… I promise."

Fox grunted in acknowledgement and patted Vince's back repeatedly. Vince managed to break Fox's hold, then once he reestablished eye contact he grinned.

"Here, uh… I want you to have something," Vince said after drying his own tears, unzipping one of the pockets to his suitcase. He grunted and pulled out a small, green wrapped square box with a line of red ribbon knotted into a bow to keep the lid on, and with another grin he handed the present to Fox.

"What is this?" Fox asked curiously.

"That was supposed to be for your birthday, but I don't know if I will be around to give it to you then," Vince explained, watching at the vulpine picked the box out of his paws. "Go ahead."

Fox pensively undid the bow by pulling one of the stray ribbons, and once that was out of the way he picked the lid off of the small package. Inside was another, much smaller black box with a felt-like cover, along with a silver insignia on the top portion that made Fox's heart almost stop.

"No," he gasped, immediately pulling the velvety case from the box. "Vince, you–"

Fox cut himself off as he opened the case from one side, revealing a beautiful silver ring with quite the impressive pale blue rock hooked on to the top. Fox gasped again and covered his muzzle, letting the green box the surprise came in fall to the ground.

"You didn't have to do this," Fox whispered through his paw in downright disbelief, staring at the glimmering ring with visible awe.

"Happy birthday," Vince chuckled.

"Vince, you seriously did not have to do this," Fox repeated, tears starting to well up in his eyes.

"You kept telling me that you wanted to marry her," Vince explained in a soft spoken voice. "I didn't have anything else to spend my money on, and I wanted you two to be happy while I was away, so… I got the information from a few of her friends and bought this for you."

Fox closed up the ring and immediately slipped the box into his pocket, then covered his eyes with both of his paws and spoke up in a very shaky and emotional voice. "Vince…"

"I know, I didn't have to," he chuckled again, wiping away a stray tear. "But I wanted you to be happy Fox. I can see that you love her a lot, what with you and her always together every single day and you sleeping with her once already–"

"Twice now," Fox muttered, getting Vince to exhale through his nose and smile.

"And that's another reason," Vince added. "If you two are gonna hit it off every other night… Fox, do it with your spouse, not your girlfriend."

Fox chuckled and nodded, pawing at the box in his pocket. "Thanks," he said thoughtfully. "It's beautiful. She'll love it."

"I hope she does," he grinned, glancing at his transmitter. Once he read the message that was written on it he let his smile fade and his ears lie flat. "Alright… Time to go."

Fox sniffed again and outstretched his arms, to which Vince leaned in and accepted the embrace. This time, Fox couldn't withhold his tears as he started crying softly, clutching at the arctic fox's lab coat.

"I'll try to keep in touch," Vince said, rubbing the vulpine's back reassuringly.

"Please do," Fox managed to squeak out. "I don't want to lose my father again."

Vince cringed unnoticeably as Fox's words left his muzzle without a moment's hesitation. "I told you before Fox, I'm not your father."

"Yes you are," Fox argued. "You've done more for me than my real father has… Don't tell me you're not my father, because I know you are to me."

Vince pulled away from the hug and smiled at the larger tod, a singular tear dripping out of his left eye.

"Thank you… son," Vince blurted out, complimented by a tingle on his tongue and a large smile coming from the vulpine. He let out a sigh and grabbed his suitcases by the handles. "I guess this is goodbye."

"Good luck… dad," Fox smiled, trying his best to withhold more tears. "Take care of yourself out there."

"You too Fox," he said, lifting his bags up as he started to walk towards the exit. "Take good care of Arcy and Jake. I believe in you."

"Thanks," Fox waved. "See ya around."

Vince smiled and slipped out of the lab, and once Vince wasn't within earshot Fox let out a singular soft sob and let another tear trace a river's path down his auburn furred cheek. He slowly pulled the velvet box out of his pocket and revealed the ring, and couldn't help but grin at the beautiful craftsmanship of the ring, from its intricate design to the beautiful diamond on top. He couldn't help but think that it was absolutely perfect for her.

It was just a matter of when he would give it to her.

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

The chaos outside the modest apartment complex only a few short miles away from the main Papetoonian HQ building became such a regular occurrence that most of the tenants had gotten used to the blaster fire and engine roars. They just slept through the noise.

Everyone except Lieutenant William O'Donnell. He couldn't sleep. He never could. He never was able to.

The gunfire and roaring engines brought back painful memories of his childhood, living in a low-income housing complex in a rough part of town, always controlled by gangs that tried to reclaim turf every other night. If that wasn't bad enough, his family was shattered when he was just a teenager, with the disappearance of his brother and the death of his father. He hated to think about it, but in all honesty that rough childhood turned him into the fighter he is today.

Still plagued by the inability to get a good night's rest, he laid in bed only in his boxers as his wife's sandy brown arm was slung over his chest. He laid there to give her comfort, because if she didn't want it he would be down training. He didn't have to stay cooped up in bed, but it seemed to be the only thing that would ease his inner tensions. The simple sensation of his wife's touch gave him much needed reassurance.

The chaos outside the window of his small, fourth-story apartment was only picking up intensity, but nothing phased him. It would never venture outside of the boundaries of the HQ. The Papetoonian Militia could take care of any issues, especially since Veris Alpha started sending over better tech and weaponry to easily defend against Cornerian influence. Papetoon as a whole supported Veria, and it was almost implied that Papetoon was Veria's colony. That's what made Muzzin so upset.

William's apartment was indeed very small, only consisting of one singular room divided by thin walls and countertops, and a small bathroom. He actually preferred its smaller size; it made it seem more homely and comforting. He and his wife's bed was pressed into the far left corner of the room if you were looking at it from the doorway, with a large window directly in the center of the back wall overlooking HQ. The bathroom's designated area was walled off on the far right side, with the small kitchen in front of it, complete with a small fridge, stovetop, and numerous counters, one of which divided the "foyer" of the apartment from the kitchen as a bar counter of sorts. There was another wall that secured their bed, and hanging from that wall was a decently sized TV, with two separate couches surrounding it on the left wall and the back wall where the door was. A comfortable and fuzzy deep dark blue carpet lined all of the flooring except for the intricate pale blue tile floor of the bathroom and kitchen area, and complimenting that color, the walls were the same light sky blue that mimicked the seas and oceans that he remembered from…

He cringed and tightened the hold on his wife's arm. He couldn't think about it.

Another deep and resounding roar only comparable to a train driving by gently rattled a few objects shelved on the other side of the dividing wall, one in particular, a picture of William's family when he was only ten – he, his mother, his father, and his damn near identical brother.

He missed him. It had been years since he disappeared. William was only twelve when he never came home, and now that he was twenty-three, he still hopes he could see him again.

Every single day his hopes were diminishing. He never had heard from him since he disappeared. He was alive, but… it was a matter of getting to him.

Every time that picture rattled… it rattled his heart too.

Now that he thought about it, though… the pounding, ratteling, and muffled explosions deep within the HQ territory that shook his walls sounded a lot like his door being knocked on.

He gently removed the sandy vixen's arm from his chest, and immediately slipped out of the covers and let his clawed digits dig into the soft carpeting. He didn't bother putting on any extra clothes as he slowly padded around the dividing wall and up to the front door, but not before swiping an old kinetic handgun from the kitchen bar's countertop. Checking to see if there was a bullet in the handgun – which there was – he pensively slid the chain lock away from the doorframe and unbolted the lock, then cautiously opened the door to see four different individuals, instantly calming the lupine down.

"You guys should really send a message to me before you start knockin' like that," William grumbled, flicking the safety back on.

"Told ya you should've called him or something," a female falcon chirped, looking in direction of another female bird, a red tailed hawk to be specific. The hawk in question shrugged her wings and took the first step into William's apartment.

"It's okay, I'm just glad to see you guys again," William absentmindedly smiled, waiting for the pink feline and golden furred dog to follow the two avians inside. He relocked the door after everyone was secure and placed the handgun back on his counter.

"Nice of you to get dressed up for us," the golden canine remarked, throwing himself on the left side couch. William glanced down at his boxers and shook his head, a small grin creasing his muzzle.

"Again, if I would've known you guys were showing up, I could've thrown something on."

"Well don't now," the falcon chirped flirtatiously, smirking to herself. "I'm enjoying the view."

William chuckled to himself and slipped around the bar counter. "Between you and Katt, I don't know who is flirtier."

"At least Laura is serious about it," the pink feline Katt remarked. "I do it for fun."

"I'm not serious about it either," the falcon Laura exclaimed.

"Then tell me why during that last scouting mission you always had your scope focused in on his dick," the red tailed hawk added, getting both William and Laura to blush.

"Stay out of this Ricca," Laura squawked. "And I was not looking at Will's dick."

"Then what _were_ you looking at?" Ricca questioned, flaring her feathers out.

"Girls, chill," the golden canine piped in. William chuckled again and let his elbows rest on the counter.

"Hey, Dingo, where's Chance?"

"Poor cat's got a head cold," The canine Dingo answered. "He'll be out for a day or two."

"Great," William grumbled. "Our gunner is out sick right when Corneria is sending more security. Someone is gonna have to cover for him."

"I can only do so much with Bryan," Laura admitted. "For a sniper, it's better to be accurate than trigger happy."

"I still can't believe you gave your rifle a man's name," Ricca remarked.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't remember your mother's name," Laura retorted, causing Dingo to snicker and bury his muzzle into the pillow lying on the couch.

"Girls," William grunted, silencing the bickering avians. "We need to figure this out."

"Good luck getting me out of the comms room," Ricca grunted, crossing her legs as she shook her head to straighten her light crimson feathery hair out. "I'm not firing a weapon."

"And you need me for support, just in case any of you fellas get shot," Dingo added. "I'll help where I can, but I won't be able to chip in much."

"We'll figure something out," William said, pawing at his white furred muzzle and gray furred cheeks. "Did your father ever send us a new assignment, Katt?"

"Nah, he's just wanting us to watch over the port as usual," the pink feline explained, a hint of disappointment plaguing her words.

"And how's your sister?"

"Still not good," Katt replied. "Veria apparently promised some meds that will help her with her condition. We just have to make sure Corneria's customs don't take them away."

"If there are even any left after what you did to that transport the other day," Ricca giggled.

"I couldn't help it," Katt laughed back. "They were sent to take away my sister's shipment. I'm protecting my siblings, whether it be her or my father."

A painful lapse of memory struck William right as he slipped around the corner, but right as he was going to fall to his knees his wife suddenly popped in and caught him. She threw his arm over her bare shoulder and stared at him with evident concern and worry, his heavy breaths ruffling her sandy fur and her brown wavy hair.

"Will," she spoke tenderly, gently easing him to the open space on the couch next to Dingo. William let a singular tear leave his brown eyes as he pulled her closer to him.

"I miss him Rebekka," he sniffed.

"I know," she replied, rubbing the back of her paw against his cheek. "You tell me every day."

"Who?" Laura asked.

"Wolf," Rebekka answered tersely. "Will's brother. He disappeared years ago."

"I know the story," the falcon interrupted.

"He's still out there," William added, determination filling his voice. "Once we get Corneria's harassment under control, I'm looking for him. I've sat in the shadows for far too long. I need to find him."

"I'm not even sure if he'll recognize you," Laura remarked, to which both Katt and Ricca glared at her. "Just saying," she added, sinking back into the upholstery.

"He may not recognize me," William started, lifting himself back off the couch. "But I _will_ recognize him."

"Guys," Ricca interrupted, lifting her transmitter up to her beak. "It's Monroe. The CDF sent another customs ship."

William cursed under his breath. "I'll meet you guys there. Go."

The crew of four instantly bolted from the small apartment and sped towards the HQ, not bothering to question the lupine about his intentions. The gray wolf quickly made his way to the dresser and started throwing some clothes on, with Rebekka watching as she leaned up against the dividing wall.

"Good luck," she said softly, giving William a peck on the muzzle as he attempted to walk out. He was not satisfied enough, as he immediately spun back around and locked his lips with hers, deepening the kiss as he embraced her tightly as well.

"I don't need it," he replied as he retracted his muzzle. "I'm a Ghost. I don't need luck."

Rebekka smiled to herself and rubbed noses with the lupine. "That's my Willy."

William blushed slightly and gave her on last tender kiss before swiping both his keys and his handgun off of the counter and bolting from his apartment.

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

"Aright fellas, that was an amazing sim," Wolf smiled, watching as his six cadets exited their respective simulation modules. "All of you are getting better. Pretty soon you fellas will be better than me."

"I wouldn't be so sure sir," Jakob chuckled, brushing off his flight suit. "We're just lucky you went easy on us."

"I never said that," Wolf said as surely as he could.

"Then did I really manage to take you down, sir?" Jakob asked in disbelief.

"Commander, you can't be serious," Kaalney butted in.

"I'm afraid he did," Wolf shrugged, smiling slightly. "Good job Jakob."

Jakob started chuckling breathily as both Arkédan and Kaalney patted his respective shoulders in congratulations, while Wolf pulled up his transmitter and started reading the message on screen.

"Alright, Commandant Draisaitl wants to see you fellas at the firing range for some advanced marksmanship training," Wolf explained. "I'll see you fellas tomorrow for another simulation."

"I can't believe you took down Commander O'Donnell," Jenna whispered to the white dragon as they exited the simulation room.

"I just got lucky guys, really," Jakob chuckled, practically drowning in questions from his fellow squadron members. Wolf laughed to himself as his cadets slipped out of earshot, but once he turned around to leave himself he ran into a face full of long, wavy, cinnamon brown hair, sputtering as the owner of the hair laughed out loud.

"Sorry hon," Sheila smiled, brushing her hair back. "You always said you want me to keep it this long."

"I know," Wolf grinned back, pecking the side of her muzzle. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I wanted to see your sims," she answered, slowly pacing towards the module the lupine was using. "That was really sweet what you did with your cadet."

"What, Jakob?"

Sheila nodded, glancing down at the floor. "It was really sweet of you to go easy on him to boost him up."

"How'd you know I was letting up on him?" Wolf asked, unable to withhold his smile from the husky.

"I know how you are," Sheila replied, batting at his leg with her tail. "You will go out of your way to help someone, especially your cadets. Anything to boost their confidence."

"Heh… I try," Wolf chuckled, pulling the husky closer to him. Sheila took the initiative and pressed her muzzle into his, locking herself into a deep and passionate kiss with the lupine. Wolf was the first one to retract, but he just slipped the slightest bit of concern and worry into his expression, just enough for the husky to see.

"Wolf…" she said softly, starting at him intently with her beautiful sky blue eyes. "Is there something wrong?"

"No," Wolf replied all too quickly. "No, She, nothing's wrong. I'm fine."

Sheila saw through his ruse like a pane of glass. "Wolf, please tell me."

"Sheila, nothing is wrong," the lupine repeated and tried to spin around, but Sheila immediately lashed out and grabbed his sleeve as he tried to walk away.

"Don't lie to me," she nearly growled. "Tell me what's up."

"I'm getting a job from the king, alright?" he blurted out scornfully, avoiding eye contact.

"Oh… my goodness, this is great!" Sheila exclaimed, spinning Wolf back around so that she could clamp both or her paws on the lupine's upper arms.

All Wolf did was grunt in acknowledgement, keeping his eyes transfixed on the floor.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" Sheila asked in a soft spoken voice.

"I didn't want you to worry about me," Wolf answered on impulse. "This is a dangerous mission, and–"

"Were you ever going to tell me about it?"

Wolf winced and bit his lower lip, shutting his eyes tightly. "I just wanted it to be a quick mission so that you didn't have to worry. I never wanted you to know."

"And what if you didn't come home?" Sheila questioned softly, a hint of anger surfacing. "You could die on this mission and I wouldn't even know."

"She–"

"You can't hide these things from me Wolf," Sheila continued. "I'm your wife. I should be the first person you tell these kinds of things to because you can always count on support from me. I care what happens to you… Does that matter?"

"Of course," Wolf replied instantly, holding Sheila's paws tightly. "I love you to death. Every little bit of support from you matters."

"Then why did you try to keep it secret?" Sheila asked, her eyes starting to glaze over.

Wolf only exhaled softly, lowering his muzzle again.

"Were you scared of how I was going to react?"

The lupine slowly nodded.

"Why?" she asked softly. "You knew I would support you, especially if it was a mission from the king. Why did you hide it from me?"

"I don't know," Wolf answered tersely. "I think it was–"

"Because it was supposed to be kept secret," Jona suddenly butted in, startling both canids. "Wolf didn't want to say it because this is as covert as covert can get. The only people that know about this operation is Wolf, my family and I… and now you."

"What is this mission?" Sheila asked.

"Oh, thank god you didn't tell her," Jona sighed.

"Tell me what?"

"I think you should let her in, Jona," Wolf breathed. "You can trust her."

"This is top secret, classified stuff," Jona explained. "I'm not supposed to give out information."

"Jona, please?" Sheila pleaded.

"Come on bud," Wolf puffed. "I just had a big talk with her about keeping info. She should know what's up."

"I can't just–"

"She's my wife, Jona," Wolf added. "She won't talk."

"Alright," Jona grumbled, folding his arms. "Wolf got approved by my father to assassinate Aeon Darkon, because word has leaked out that he might be starting another revolution. If he does that, Corneria might strike us while we're busy with that, and we may lose our first war in centuries."

"Wolf's doing this to stop war?" Sheila asked with visible awe.

"Well… he's gonna at least stop part of it," Jona chuckled. "Corneria's war is almost inevitable now… but what we can do is get rid of Darkon so that we can ensure the war with Corneria isn't as bad as we anticipate."

"Why are you and your parents so insistent on going to war with Corneria?" Wolf asked.

"We're not insistent," Jona corrected. "We're just anticipating the worst. My grandfather is going to Corneria one last time later today, and if he can't persuade Muzzin that he does not want to fight… I'm sorry Wolf, but you and Sheila might be fighting against your own kind. We hate to think of it that way, but every day it becomes more and more apparent."

"I told you Jona, my wife and I aren't fighting against Corneria," Wolf said sternly. "I'm not risking my life and hers just to prove a point. You're lucky I'm doing this job against Darkon."

"I understand that, but what's going on is that one wrong move from either side and we're at war. I'm not talking about a full scale fight, I'm talking about one little thing that's gonna set either side over the–"

"JONA!" a feminine voice screamed, and not long afterward Jona saw his apprentice Anya burst through the doors of the simulation room, panting loudly with the expression of pure terror plastered on her snout.

"Anya?" Jona called out confusedly. "What's wrong?"

Anya let out a pitiful squeak as she opened her mouth, and what she managed to squeak out afterward dropped everyone's hearts into their stomachs.

"Cerinia is under attack."

* * *

 **As a minor note, the rating will most likely change upward due to the next chapter (or the plans for it), so keep that in the back of your mind when the next chapter is posted. As for why? ...I'll leave that to you guys' imagination... Take care fellas.**


	9. What Would Have Happened?

**S: A/N: As promised, here is the chapter that will require me to bump the rating up. It's just for precautionary measures; I don't want anyone getting upset because of the content that is in this chapter. However, now that I've left a disclaimer and now hat the rating is as high as it will go... I can do whatever I want... heheheh...  
**

 **Anyway, long chapter again, but... this is quite a chapter. Again, it does have a bit of provocative content, so read at your own risk. To be honest, I can't help but compare this chapter to mission 4 of CoD MW2. For those who know... you've been warned...**

 **Regardless, hope you guy enjoy this chapter despite the conditions. For those entered in that contest I'm hosting that is reading this, Haygood and I have decided to join together for our entry. Also, being that the limit is a 10K word ceiling... I may not have allowed enough space for what I want to do. Oh well. Hope you guys enjoy this regardless, and keep an eye out for everyone's contest submissions. Can't wait to hear from you guys on them, and this chapter as well. Take care fellas!**

* * *

 _There's no holding me back  
I'm not driven by fear  
I'm just driven by anger  
And you're under attack  
Just climbing up slowly  
I'm the one and only_

 _The tease, the way you lie  
The stumble in your mind  
The fear, the hope inside  
They hit there, hit there_

 _But whatever you need  
'Ever you got  
'Ever you want  
I'll take back again  
Whatever you need  
'Ever you got  
'Ever you want  
I'll take back again_

 _*Our Lady Peace – Whatever*_

* * *

 **Chapter 9: What Would Have Happened?  
**

* * *

Blood…

Blood everywhere…

It didn't matter who it was… warriors, invaders, women, children, elderly… They were all slaughtered.

Why?

Why is this happening?

A tortured mind screamed out in silent pain and enragement as the invaders rushed him. With a swift slash or jab of his sword, a blast from his pistol, or a nasty bash from his shield or tail, he kept his enemies at bay. He killed to protect what is important to him – his family and the people he swore to protect. Dozens fell before him as he used every last ounce of his strength to fight off his opposition.

That was before the flash of blinding light and pain ended the carnage.

A massive blood red Verian shot up from his nightmare with eyes wide open, looking around with his combat reflexes in full effect. He immediately checked himself for wounds, and upon finding nothing but his nightclothes he let out a breathy sigh and glanced to his right, seeing his Cerinian wife laying there sound asleep as if he didn't even wake up.

"Damn nightmares," he cursed in Verian as he laid back down, gently and carefully wedging himself into his wife's grasp and pulled her against his body in an attempt to cuddle her. She responded by pressing herself deeper into his chest as the large dragon slipped back into sleep.

The following morning was the normal everyday thing for the family ever since Roja's formal retirement from the Guardian Corps. Conversations during breakfast were always about school, hunting, or just everyday gossip. Roja's wife was a superb huntress, a beautiful woman as well as an extremely loving mother, which is why he spent the last fifteen years with her, and he plans to share the entire gift of his immortality that their bond has given them with her, just over the years he's learned that they would have to be careful as he could still be killed. He trusted her with his life, she trusted him with hers, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

She gave him a son and a daughter respectively, only a few short years apart from each other, and he suspects that she's expecting again. He didn't mind it at all, he loves children because they bring light to an otherwise dull life. He loved her and their children dearly, as it gave his life more meaning than just being in combat every other day.

The former Knight Commander grew tired of the fighting as a surviving veteran of three Darkon uprisings, as well as the Commander of the Cerinian Protection Program. That in and of itself merited the right for Roja to retire peacefully for his years of faithful service to the two planets.

Since he retired, he took up tending their field. There was nothing else he could do otherwise, so to curb the boredom and to make himself feel useful he used the unused soil behind their Cerinian home to start a small field and began growing their own food. He was always told it was healthier, especially coming from a Cerinian field as the soil there is generally more nutrient rich and fertile.

That afternoon, while their two kits were in school, he found himself out in the backyard with his gardening tools as usual when his wife came out to see him.

"Do you ever stop tending to this field?" the midnight blue Cerinian vixen asked with a slight smirk, letting her hips sway with the gentle breeze which rustled her wavy hair and bushy tail.

Roja just grinned softly and rested his weight on his gardening hoe. "You know how I am Ali… I like–"

"To feel useful, I know, my dear," Ali finished for him, wrapping her strong arms around her husband's neck. She was only a head shorter than he was, but he still had to duck under the doorway to get inside his home.

"A Guardian has to feel useful in some way," Roja reminded. "It keeps us from going insane with boredom."

"Well, we could go hunting together," she suggested, letting a seductive grin surface as a dirty little memory arose.

Roja had to grin. "Last time we hunted together, things got too heated, and Silla was conceived," he explained, Ali nodding as she knew this story all too well. She instinctively pulled herself up to him and planted her muzzle to his snout, giving him a deep and passionate kiss like she had always done to him before.

That tender and intimate moment was rudely interrupted by a series of loud booms. The two broke apart and looked to the west, more booms echoed on the air which sent chills down their spines. Roja's ears twitched as his chest suddenly tensed up once he saw the dark smoke rising up from the village, being blown in their direction by the wind.

"What is that?" Ali questioned urgently as she too caught the smoke, her eyes starting to widen. "Roja?!" she turned to her husband, who's face had lost its kind demeanor and was replaced by a borderline angry and nervous expression. Her eyes widened even more when realization struck her like a cruel twist of fate. He heard the call.

"ROJA!" she screamed as the Verian threw his tool to the dirt and rushed towards their house. "What do we do?"

"Round up the rest of the village and get them to the sanctuary!" he commanded. "We don't have much time!" He reached for a cabinet and opened it, revealing a set of armor he hoped he'd never have to wear again.

Now he had to return to the field yet again.

To protect the people.

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

"We made landfall," the pilot of their supply transport ship said as the engines of the ship slowly hummed down. "No problems. Better make it quick though – the locals are getting curious."

Joel unfastened his safety harness and instantly located his rifle, but instead of the comfortable foregrip, he replaced it with a long and thick tube resembling a flashlight, the trigger on the underside almost pressing against the ammunition cartridge. He made one last check of his weapon, making sure all of his systems were optimal, and right as he finished a familiar female wolf trotted up to him, completely decked out in her colonial militia uniform consisting of a thick feminine vest with thin, lightweight sleeves bearing her name, rank, and the Fichinian Militia insignia, some similarly colored cargo pants and boots, and her weapons – a blocky rifle much like his own, a razor-sharp short sword about two feet in length, and a compact SMG that reminded Joel of a Mac-10. Her long hair was pulled back into a ponytail that stuck out of a special slit in her hat – a baseball cap stitched with the Fichinian Militia logo much like her vest.

"Nice toy," Skae grinned, poking at Joel's customized M4A1. Joel made sure the safety was on before he started repositioning it in his hands to look at every square inch.

"She's a beauty," he agreed. Skae nodded, then rested her paw on Joel's shoulder, instantly activating his warning lights.

"Hey, good luck out there," she said softly, twitching her tall, pointy ears. "I know this is a different kind of operation, but it needs to be done. I don't want to kill innocents either."

"I don't either," he said stoically, priming his rifle. "But Corneria murdered innocents too, from both of our races. We're simply returning the favor."

"A third party repayment," Eliot butted in. "These guys did nothing wrong. Why are we killing them?"

"Our kind didn't do anything wrong either," Erik butted in. "Like Joel said, we're simply returning the favor."

"Erik, right?" Skae asked, prompting a nod from the larger human. "I like your style. Here; you, Joel, and I will go off to the left. There's a few places we can hit while the rest of the team goes downtown."

"Sounds good," he answered, and before he could say another word the hangar doors were lowered. Joel and Skae were the first two out, and as they let their eyes adjust to the village the rest of their team followed suit.

" _Bleib_!" Eilot's deep German command resounded, getting the antsy canine near him to calm down slightly.

Joel took a look around his surroundings, raising an eyebrow at the strikingly blue population. From deep within the small crowd that had gathered about one hundred feet away from the transport ship came three vulpine creatures, two clothed in Cerinian warrior apparel and paint, the one in the middle wearing a very colorful robe that covered everything below his neck. Joel tensed up slightly as he pulled up his mask, concealing everything under his eyes. The rest of his team followed suit, except for the Fichinians who just tightened their vests and helmets.

Much to his surprise, Skae was the first one to speak once the blue vulpine drew closer. "Hello, you must be the leader here?"

"I wish," the blue vulpine chuckled. "I'm just a district chief. Name's Yuri."

"It's a pleasure," Skae replied in a fake assuring voice that was damn near believable, pawing at a handgun concealed in one of the pockets of her pants. She twitched and folded her left ear, giving Joel a signal that she told him on the way there, and without a moment's hesitation he cupped the long barrel underneath the muzzle of his rifle and squeezed the trigger, a resounding thump resounding from it as a small cylindrical tube shot from his gun. It arched low before it impacted a house over two hundred feet away, instantly detonating and ripping over half the structure apart, scattering debris everywhere around it as flames started to flare up.

The crowd that gathered ducked and screamed as the building Joel fired at exploded, causing the two warriors guarding Yuri to bring up their blades and try to strike, only to be put down by shots from Erik and Ramsay respectively. Skae revealed the concealed handgun and aimed it right between the blue fox's wide violet eyes.

"It's nothing personal," she stated coldly, priming the weapon. "Just pray that your Verian friends have the honor to take care of what we start."

 ** _BANG_**

Yuri fell to the ground in a heap, blood spewing from the wound in his head onto the soft soil. Skae holstered the handgun and turned to face the group, hoisting her rifle high as she let out a loud, feminine howl, the rest of the Fichinian population mimicking her as they all rushed off of the transport and opened fire, spewing various colored lasers into the helpless crowd. There were a few Cerinians that tried to stand up and fight, only to be forcefully put down by the Fichinian's automatic energy weapons.

Joel felt the she wolf pat his back reassuringly, pulling one of his grenades from his vest and slipping it into the underbarrel launcher of his rifle. "Promise me you'll hook me up with one of these when this is all over."

Joel snickered and nodded, then turned his gaze to Erik and poked at his rifle. Erik nodded in recognition, then followed Joel out into the open right at the start of their village. They simultaneously let their respective launchers go, each one decimating the house that they specifically targeted as if it was a house of cards knocked over by a baseball bat. Smoke and flames started billowing as the Fichinian soldiers started throwing condensed energy detonators through windows or at groups of people, each one exploding in a spherical pale blue energy field, igniting fires in the process.

Joel gazed upon the carnage that was befalling the village like the way he gazed out at the destruction of his hometown back on Earth. It brought back horrible memories, but it also gave him the reassurance knowing that this event would ultimately cause Corneria's demise. He hated to do this, but he had no other option.

One of the Fichinian soldiers had a shoulder mounted energy launcher much like an RPG, and with the pull of its trigger, the house he was aiming at instantly detonated, scattering splinters of wood and chunks of rock within one hundred feet of the foundation. Joel couldn't help but snicker at the destruction being caused, although something in the back of his mind was telling him it wasn't the right idea.

He looked up to see Skae rushing towards a house, her bound up ponytail bouncing limply like her tail as she fired at a few Cerinian warriors only armed with spears and knives. Joel thought it would be of his best interest to follow her, because she seemed to know exactly what it was she was doing. He didn't approve of a blind shoot-'em-up style mission, so he followed the she wolf to see what her ideas and plans were. Again, she looked as though she had done this kind of mission before.

Ramsay, Charlie, and Samuel were all still in the village's main square, putting down any attempted opposition they found, making efforts not to shoot anyone who didn't need it, while the Fichinian hunters and huntresses were going absolutely savage when it came to the attack. The males in particular would intentionally gun down innocents, taking out their seething rage and hatred on the Cerinian population. They occasionally had the discomfort of a telepath trying to subdue them from the inside out, but their efforts were futile against fully automatic weapons.

Joel peered around the corner of the foundation of a recently obliterated house, seeing just how barbaric and savage the Fichinian hunters were. Honestly, it put a sour taste in his mouth knowing that he supported such an attack. Not once did he approve of the innocents being slaughtered, the unnecessary damage being inflicted on an obviously underdeveloped race, and, most predominantly, the abuse and sexual assault the males were forcing on the female Cerinians before ruthlessly ending their suffering by one pull of the trigger. All he wanted was to get revenge… not completely decimate and humiliate such a race.

Joel actually lost sight of Erik for a while, but after a few more minutes of resounding gunfire coming from the Fichinian militiamen, he finally saw him staggering out of a half-destroyed home with a hand over his midsection.

"Fucking fox bitch," he growled, pulling out his cigarette lighter and setting the brush near the house ablaze, hoping it would spread to the adjacent house.

"Erik, what happened?" Joel asked, seeing the large soldier's hand was covered in blood that was seeping from his abdomen.

"That little cock sucker in this house just kicked my balls and fucking stabbed me," he answered angrily, pulling the pin on a grenade on his vest and lobbing into the shattered window of the house. Both Joel and Erik backed away a few feet, and a few moments later the explosive detonated, blowing over half of the house away. "Damn blade she had stings."

"Alright, get back to the ship then," the lieutenant said, pointing at the transport. "I don't want you getting hurt more."

"I'll check you out after we've had our fill," Skae added just as Erik started walking away.

"You have medicinal experience?" Joel asked, balancing his rifle loosely in his hands as the two of them slowly advanced towards the center of town.

"Just a bit," Skae answered. "I had to care for a lot of sick and starving during Corneria's attempt at killing us off, so a few crash courses and a lot of practice later I'm a registered nurse, as well as being a huntress. I know what I need to use and when I need to use it, 'cause during that time of no shipments on Fichina it was a literal hell on–"

"GUARDIAN!" one of the Fichinian soldiers yelled at the top of his lungs, followed by the sound of a few gun discharges, and then a blood curdling shriek followed by a resounding thud afterward. Joel transitioned his gaze to Skae to question her on what just happened, but he stopped when he could see the significant amount of color loss that her face had.

"Oh shit," she whispered inaudibly, lifting her assault rifle up to her shoulder as she pivoted her had to face the mostly white-furred militia. "Hold your line! Direct all fire to the Guardian!"

"What's a Guardian?" Joel questioned, chasing after the she wolf.

"A threat to our operation," was all she replied with.

"Seriously, what–"

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!" Roja's booming and blood chilling voice barked, the sound of another shield bash assaulting the hunters' ears. Joel finally saw what they were so afraid of – a massive blood red humanlike dragon, fully equipped in a thick set of armor along with a heavy shield and a rifle. It only took one shot from his gun to send a Fichinian soldier soaring backwards and sprawling to the ground, blood pouring out of a one-inch hole burned into his chest, and the dragon was spewing lasers to try and defend the Cerinian population, with most of them finding their mark.

A line of about ten or so Fichinain riflemen opened fire on the huge Verian, in response he slammed his shield into the ground and created a thick barrier, absorbing the energy fire like a superconductor. Once they stopped their shots, Roja used the energy absorbed with his shield and transferred it to his rifle, spewing highly volatile lasers that decimated the squad that had just tried to shoot him. Joel growled and pulled up his rifle, only for Skae to push it back down.

"Joel, get back," Skae commanded, pushing him backwards into the house they were hiding behind. "You won't be able to take him alone. We need to organize something against him."

"Why can't we just shoot him down?"

Skae nearly scoffed, recharging her energy rifle. "One does not simply shoot down a Guardian. His armor and shield can take a brutal punishment capable of annihilating a hundred soldiers, without harming the wearer of the armor in question. Dammit, nobody told us about a Guardian being here!"

"You sons of bitches!" Roja's snarling voice echoed through the village, followed by a whining roar only comparable to a jet engine firing up. A resounding detonation ensued, throwing both Joel and Skae to the ground as the soil beneath them quaked with reverberations from an electrified shield slam into the earth. While the dragon's opposition was rendered incapable with that action, he opened fire and effortlessly eradicated his hostiles.

Joel fell onto his back while Skae fell on top of him, not that he would have noticed since she was practically weightless compared to him. The wolf gave him a forced sheepish grin as she picked herself up, only to be forcefully thrown back on top of him by another one of Roja's artificial earthquakes.

"You alright?" Skae asked the second time as Joel started coughing.

"I'm fine," Joel replied, practically throwing the she wolf off of his chest. "We need to stop this guy."

"No shit," Skae grunted after standing up, poking the barrel of her rifle around the corner to get a few shots off on the Guardian, each one doing miniscule amounts of damage to the armor, if any at all.

" _Va'yeh_!" Skae barked in Fichinian, to which the soldier with the RPG-like weapon took aim at the dragon and fired at his feet, only for Roja to slap it with his shield to alter its course to send it directly into a group of five Fichinian soldiers. The soldier with the rocket yelped and threw the launcher to the ground, rolling and nearly getting nicked by Roja's rifle.

"Fuck, sorry Skae," the soldier grunted, panting from exertion. "I didn't know the Guardian could do that."

"Neither did I," Skae growled in a low voice. "Grab up some marksmen and get on the other side of the town square. That dragon is getting too close to the transport – if we start stationing troops by the sanctuary, we might be able to lure him away."

Not ten seconds after that soldier radioed in the command to the rest of the group, troops started swarming the white iron structure towards the very back of the village pressed into the mountains. Roja saw the development and snarled menacingly, throwing his empty rifle on the ground and unsheathing a near four-foot broadsword, Verian insignias etched into the glimmering metal like tattoos.

"Oh no you fucking don't!" he bellowed, charging at the advancing soldiers with his shield and sword raised. The jet engine roar returned as his heavy shield started pulsating with visible electric currents, and using the momentum of his charge he slammed through a metaphorical wall of Fichinian soldiers, casting them aside like toys. The current spread to nearby troops, rendering them immobile while Roja stormed through and mowed them down.

The blood red Verian cleared the crowd that had gathered at the locked gates of the fortress, and once he gazed out at the advancing solders he wedged his shield into the ground and assumed his fighting stance. "You want them? You have to go through me!"

"Rammy, take a squad and flank left," Joel commanded into his earpiece. "Eliot, you go right. The rest, charge straight down the middle. We can overwhelm him when it's a hundred on one."

Ramsay held back when his group stormed, and he was glad he did. Roja immediately saw the flank and drew his shield up, then charged at the group like an angry bull. All fifteen or so soldiers opened fire, but it seemed as though each laser either deflected off of his shield, was absorbed by his armor, or only pocked or singed his incredibly durable coating that encompassed his massive frame.

Roja's tactic was to disarm, then kill. He would slice a weapon in half, or slice an arm off with his razor sharp broadsword, then go in for the kill, essentially splitting soldiers apart like breaking twigs and toothpicks. Showers and explosions of blood trailed the Verian as he literally cut his way through his opposition. He was so quick with his counter attack that the white-furred soldiers didn't even have time to let out a yelp of pain or a cry of agony before their existence was abruptly terminated.

" _Fass_!" Eliot shouted, and immediately afterward Stryker shot out and ran towards the raging dragon. Stryker pounced and managed to catch Roja off-guard, sending him sprawling to the ground, but before the shepherd could move in for an attempted killing blow the Verian unsheathed his handgun and fired a shot through the canine's back leg, then followed through with a sweep of his tail to send him barreling backwards.

"Stryker!" Eliot cried, bringing up his rifle and charging forward while Roja was still on the ground. "Nobody hurts my dogs!"

Roja attempted to stand up, only to get a hard smash in the face with Eliot's boot, instantly creating a large cut on the Verian's snout. He took aim and fired five rounds – each one getting lodged in his armor, but one actually found a weak point and imbedded itself just under his shoulder. Roja cried out in pain, but still managed to grab Eliot's ankle and brutally throw him to the ground, casting his helmet and mask aside. He wouldn't be deterred that easily as he immediately sprang to his feet to continue his assault, only for Roja's blade to pierce his vest and go straight through his chest.

"Is this how you get your sick kicks… Terran?" Roja growled, glaring at Eliot's sputtering and choking frame as he tried to free himself from the dragon's sword. "Going after innocent people? You should be ashamed of yourself."

"I was… just… following orders," Eliot sputtered, clutching at his impaled chest.

"What kind of vile, disgraceful person would order the execution of so many beautiful, innocent people?" Roja questioned sourly. "I don't believe that for a second. Where the hell are you and your people hiding?"

"I'm… not… giving my… teammates away," Eliot whimpered sternly.

"Loyal to the wrong cause," Roja growled. "May whoever you worship in have mercy on you."

He didn't allow Eliot to respond as he forcefully pulled the weaker human from his sword and threw him through a window of a nearby blazing house. He gasped and coughed as the huge gash all the way through his body was causing him to drown in his own blood, and the burning pain that accompanied the wound was threatening to put him out of his misery as well.

He looked towards the front of the house when he saw the front door creak open, and let out a miniscule smile when he saw Stryker hobbling inside. He carried a trail of blood seeping from his hind leg, and judging by the wound and the possible trauma he wouldn't last much longer, even with proper medical care. Then again, he was one to talk. He had a few minutes at best.

Stryker lowered his head and licked Eliot's cheek, whimpering softly as he realized his master was hurt. Eliot rubbed at the shepherd's head and ears with what little strength he had.

"Good boy…" Eliot rasped. "You did good buddy. I'm sorry."

Stryker cranked his head around to his vest, then immediately transitioned his gaze to his trainer and cocked his head. An idea sprung to his head, and under normal circumstances he would not allow this to happen, but both of them would be dead anyway so what did it matter?

" _Voran_ ," Eliot grunted, using the last bit of strength he had to pull the pin on a grenade still strapped to the canine's vest. Stryker acknowledged his command and immediately rushed out of the house, limping noticeably, and ran straight for Roja.

The Verian was preoccupied with tanking round after round of laser and bullet fire from the group in the middle, but instantly stopped when the canine bit down on his leg. He grunted and looked down to pull the dog off, and was rewarded with a painfully bright flash of light followed by immense and overwhelming pain as the ground beneath him detonated.

Roja flipped head over heels into a ditch off to the side of the cobblestone pathway, gasping and coughing violently as his leg was almost completely severed. He couldn't bring enough strength to his arms to try and shoot at the approaching soldiers, right when one of them pointed their blocky assault rifle directly in between his eyes.

"Joel, wait," Skae butted in softly, pushing the barrel of his weapon down. "We've done enough here."

"This fucker just killed Eliot," Joel nearly snarled. "I'm not gonna let him–"

"Please," Skae interrupted again. "We've done enough damage. Let the Guardian die in peace."

Joel gave the injured dragon a nasty scowl as he started to walk away from the scene. Skae sighed and strapped her rifle to her back.

"Gather the bodies and try to clean up the mess," Skae commanded into her own earpiece. "One little bit of evidence and we're all dead."

"Why did you stop me?" Joel questioned immediately after her message finished.

"He sacrificed his life to save the civilians we were slaughtering," Skae absentmindedly replied, scooping up a few spent ammunition casings as they made their way back to the transport. "He might have a family that he saved too. The least I can do is give him that last moment with his family."

Skae exhaled again and looked towards the cloudless sky. "Plus… I can't help but think that this is the wrong idea… You saw what we did… And if Veria actually finds out that we were the ones that were behind this…"

Joel couldn't help but agree. This did seem a bit excessive.

A bit of silence other than the cries of the injured in the village was suddenly interrupted by Joel putting his hand in front of the wolf to stop her.

"Thanks for saving my ass a few times," Joel grinned slightly.

"I could say the same thing," Skae giggled back. "Ya know… I was… well… kinda hesitant working with a few humans and all… but… you've proven me wrong. You're pretty cool Joel… Thanks for putting up with us."

"Hey, thanks for not shooting me the first time you saw me," Joel countered, giving a gentle elbow to the taller wolf. "You're not too bad yourself Skae. I would've never guessed."

"Never guessed what?" she asked, throwing her casings into a small bag draped over her shoulder.

"That your kind and ours could… coexist in this way, if I can say it that way," Joel explained, scratching his neck a little bit.

"Heh, yeah," Skae grinned. "Seems as though when humans and Lylatians get together it's nothing but trouble."

Joel nodded in acknowledgement. He knew that all too well.

"But, I keep feeling that there is more than just hatred behind our races," Skae added on impulse, prompting an eyebrow raise from the Lieutenant. "I mean, have you heard the stories?"

"Which ones?" Joel asked.

"The one during the war with Earth and Corneria, where that one human tried to persuade the attacks to stop? He ended up kidnapping a leader's kit, and turns out that kit ended up being really close friends with that human before the kit's father ended up killing him. The fact that those two managed to become friends, especially after what happened to both of their races is a pretty amazing story."

Joel just stayed in silence, completely overwhelmed with the information the she wolf just relayed to him.

"Not all Cornerians are bad… just look at that kid that befriended the human," she continued. "It's just that the people in power are the ones making it seem like every human interaction is a bad thing. We thought it was good, so we encouraged more friendly interactions with Earth, but Corneria's Prime Minister won't have any of it."

Joel nodded in agreement yet again.

"I thought it would be a great idea to get humans into trade agreements… possibly establish a few outposts for each of us respectively, then we've got an alliance between us both. Maybe influence each other's cultures a little bit, ya know, to shake things up a bit… …It just sucks that great ideas like that are overlooked when one small thing happens… Now you humans want back at Corneria, and I can't help but agree with you. They've done too many wrong things, and you guys want to pay them back."

"And so do you," Joel added.

"I just want Muzzin dead," Skae growled. "After what he did to us, and the entire LHC for that matter, I want him dead. Simple as that. You humans are out for as much Cornerian blood as you can."

Skae stopped in her tracks and looked back at Joel again, a slight smile creasing her muzzle.

"We'll do this together, Joel," Skae said firmly. "We're in this together, and I'll make sure that both of our dreams of payback come true. You can count on me."

The she wolf outstretched her paw, to which Joel accepted in a firm, yet gentle handshake. What Joel wasn't expecting was Skae to lean forward and wrap her arm around him, giving him a rather ginger hug despite being the taller individual in the exchange. As if it was a mindless decision on her part, she immediately pulled away, brushed off her vest, then continued walking to the transport.

Joel couldn't avert his eyes from the swaying motions of Skae's hips and tail as she trotted along the streets towards the transports. It was as if that simple added affection she let loose caused Joel's mindset to do a complete flip. At first, he didn't want anything to do with her and her race, and after the assault they would part ways with nothing more than a goodbye. Now, he hated to admit it, but he was truly attracted to her, as if his previous mindset to the anthropomorphic race didn't hold true to her. The way she talked and acted around the human reflected that fact for herself, that being she had feeling for him as well, although it was so subtly implied that Joel couldn't fully trust its authenticity.

However, they just narrowly escaped a presumably lethal counter attack with their lives. They probably weren't thinking straight. It might have been the inhalation of fumes. He didn't know. All he wanted was to get off this planet before another Guardian showed up and finished what the first one started.

They did one last body count – a total of sixty-three hunters and huntresses (minus Eliot) – and made sure everything was cleaned up before everyone was loaded back up in the transport and was bound back for Fichina. Joel fidgeted with his suit for a bit longer than his usual interval of time in the main hangar after takeoff before he absentmindedly wandered back to his cramped quarters in the cruiser, his shared room with Erik and Eliot. Eliot's blood stained vest and helmet was lying on his bed as Joel slipped in the room, and his first sight other than that was Erik lying on his cot with a bandage covering his midsection and an ice pack between his legs.

"You okay Josef?" Joel asked, plopping down on his respective cot.

"Yeah, I'm alright," he answered, removing the now room temperature cold pack from his privates. "Yourself?"

"I'm fine, but… I think I might've inhaled a bit more fumes than I should have," Joel grunted, lying on his back. "I'm not thinking straight anymore."

"Why's that?" he asked.

Joel hesitated before finally letting a breath of air through his nose and closing his eyes. "I think I might be in love with Skae."

Erik's mouth opened wide. "That wolf?"

Joel nodded sheepishly.

"Heh, you _must_ have inhaled a few more fumes than you should have," Erik chuckled. "No way you're attracted to _that_."

"Well, you see, that's the thing," Joel started, readjusting his pillow. "She told me that some humans and Lylatians can… coexist… she told me a story about what happened with a human and a Cornerian kid that befriended each other during our first war with Corneria, and… it got me thinking about that… that maybe there's more to our races than just fighting and violence."

He didn't allow Erik to throw in his two cents as he rubbed his forehead and continued. "It makes you think about what would've happened if that satellite we sent six years ago didn't hit Corneria… If it actually worked… Like… what would happen to our races if Corneria was on friendly terms with us? Like Skae said… we might be able to coexist if that was the case… Ya know, an intergalactic ally?"

"But saying you're in love with a creature like that is absurd," Erik interrupted.

"I know, but… it just feels right," Joel replied. "I haven't felt this way even with Jordan before I lost her. Skae, she's… she's different."

"No shit," Erik grumbled. "She's got a muzzle and a tail. Of course she's different."

"No, Erik, seriously," the Lieutenant continued. "This is much different than just physical appearances. I don't know… I really think that what she said got to me. The coexisting part… maybe there _is_ more than just fighting."

"Whatever floats your boat, Joel," Erik muttered, flipping over to face the wall. "You want to go fuck that furry, go right ahead. Nobody's stoppin' ya."

Joel glared at him and gave him the bird as he stood back up and walked over to Eliot's cot. "You sure that fox kicked you hard enough?"

"Ha, ha, very funny," Erik grunted.

Joel shook his head at him before reaching down and picking up the late Corporal Eliot's Sparks' tags, one dried up stain of blood covering up his serial. He used his thumb and scraped the stain off, making his tags as pristine and presentable as possible. It was common sense to keep them maintained, even if the wearer was long gone.

"Kid was good," Joel spoke up, wrapping the chain around his fist. "Damn good. Sucks it had to be him."

"But if it wasn't, we'd all be dead," Erik replied. "He saved everyone… what he did to save us took a lot of heart. I wouldn't be able to do what he did."

Joel nodded and pulled Eliot's gear bag out from underneath his cot and threw it up near his vest and helmet. He tied the chain with his tags around the fabric handle and patted the bag, but stopped when he heard something rustle inside. Perplexed, he unzipped the duffle to reveal his usual civilian and training clothing sets, but proceeded to dig through his belongings to try and decipher the foreign object.

"Come on man, you shouldn't be digging through his shit," Sergeant Josef grunted.

Joel ignored him and managed to find the object, a yellow padded manila envelope with a date written in black marker on the front side. Joel nearly gasped – the date was the day before the Cornerians left Earth over six years ago.

He made sure he was gentle as he carefully opened the envelope up, a few notebook pages, pictures, and other objects resting comfortably inside. The first thing he removed was what looked to be a chain necklace made of sterling silver, a wire frame circle charm surrounded by the outlines of olive branches dangling from the bottom. That alone piqued the Lieutenant's interest – something this intricate and expertly crafted would have costed a fortune even if it was made of silver.

Joel placed the charm and necklace down and continued to search the envelope. The next thing he pulled out was an olden style picture, the corners crumpled and the picture unnoticeably yellowing, but he could still make out Eliot crouching down near… a Cornerian kit.

Written in the white margin underneath the picture in Eliot's slightly dyslexic handwriting was the date on the envelope, along with the words "Miyu Linx – my first intergalactic friend". Joel's eyes widened as he noticed the lynx was wearing a necklace – the same necklace that he just pulled out of the envelope.

"Erik," Joel whispered in downright awe. "Erik, look at this."

"Joel, I told you that you shouldn't be digging through Sparky's stuff," Erik said impatiently.

"No, seriously, look," Joel repeated. "It's from New York the day before they left. Pic of him with that Cornerian kid he was talking about before we came here."

Erik needed no second invitation as he groaned out in pain in an attempt to sit up, then managed to stagger to his feet and walk up right behind Joel's shoulder. He picked the picture out of his hands and stared at it curiously.

Joel found another picture in the envelope, one of Eliot and two other Cornerian soldiers along with one of Sparks' old teammates – a large white bandage covering the human soldier's head underneath his dark hair. The soldier was lying on a medical cot while one of the Cornerian doctors was checking on him, and he was giving a thumb up to the camera while a short, female, brown and tan fox creature was smiling at him, also showing a raised clawed thumb at the camera.

"Hawkins…" Joel muttered under his breath. "He survived…"

He flipped the photograph over to read a message written on the back, clearly not Eliot's handwriting.

 _To my buddy El: Thanks for saving my ass way more times than I care to admit. You've always been my best friend, and even after I start my life on Corneria, I'll always keep you in my mind. Take care of yourself Sparky. –Will_

"Wait," Erik grunted, poking at the message. "Hawkins _willingly_ went with them?"

"I think so," Joel mumbled. "This chick right here though…" he pointed to the cat-like fox sitting near him. "She looks absolutely _entranced_ with him."

Joel shook his head and set the picture aside and pulled out one of the notebook pages from the envelope, dated to the day after the Cornerians left.

 _It's been a full twenty-four hours since they left… …I miss them already. Hawkins, Rahal, Marrlow… I should've gone with. I should've taken them up on their offer to go to Corneria. I'm kicking myself for not accepting their offer. My three best friends are probably already there, and… I'm still here…_

 _Should anyone find this… probably after I'm already dead… I want you to know that I regret my decision to not go with to Corneria. I wanted to stay with Miyu. I wanted to stay with my friends. I was scared to go along because I didn't know how everyone else would take another human's presence. My three best friends just left to explore this new world… and I'm stuck here to clean up the mess._

 _The Cornerians aren't bad. They just had the wrong orders. I assume everyone doesn't need to be reeducated when it comes to having the wrong orders leading to something much bigger than previously anticipated. I'll write it out again for whoever is reading this:_ _the Cornerians aren't a bad race._ _Anyone that wants to tell you different… …I'm sorry… But they're wrong. Corneria isn't the enemy… at least… not anymore…_

 _I hope Hawkins stays with that girl – forgot to ask for her name. He liked her… it wasn't subtle at all. I'll admit, she was quite a beautiful vixen. Makes you wonder if I would've went with I would have found someone myself… Wishful thinking…_

 _\- Elliot Sparks  
_

Joel and Erik could only stare at each other with wide eyes and gapping jaws.

They both shared the face of shock, confusion, and most of all, guilt.

"Sparky…" Joel whispered silently, clutching at the corporal's tags tightly.

"Poor guy," Erik said softly, looking at the pictures again. Joel shook his head and rubbed at his forehead, eyes still staring at the pictures and the necklace.

"What have we done?"

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

It had been twenty minutes since they took off from the Renown, but the ride wasn't as smooth as everybody was used to, or for that matter, wanted. This situation wasn't normal – it was beyond normal… in fact it was pretty fucked up beyond all recognition. Everyone stayed in dead silence for practically the entire duration of the flight from Jona's warship to the disengagement zone, and from there planet-side. A long, tedious, and painfully tense flight to Cerinia was what they had to suffer to answer the call to something they dreaded hearing and hoped they never had to hear ever.

The transport was heavy, loaded with four separate Hydra tanks and two Adder Infantry Fighting Vehicles, and for a ground team the cruiser housed a platoon of regular troops of the 476th Infantry Battalion, and a tactical element of the Verian Guardian Corps with Jona in command. All in all a very strong group.

The aforementioned dragon looked over all the troops in the ship's cargo bay from the catwalk above the forward ramp. Usually he would smile at the sight of such an organized and battle-ready crew, but in the situation they were in all he could do was stare at them intently. They as well as the ships in orbit and the two trainee fighter squadrons were his responsibility. These were _his_ soldiers, and he would make damn sure that they got back alive.

Much to his surprise, nobody noticed him yet, but he didn't mind that his troops were trying to calm themselves before the storm hit. It was a tense situation. Nobody planet-side knew what had plagued them. Nobody on Jona's cruiser knew who it was that launched the full-scale assault either. He hated to admit it, but they were on the short end of the stick when it came to information, and he crossed his fingers, hoping that at least one person on the surface would tell them who attacked so that he could give the culprits what–

"EYES UP!" a young, but strong feminine voice echoed though the hold, which Jona instantly recognized to be Anya, fully decked out in her Spear Guardian light armor. "KNIGHT CAPTAIN ON DECK!"

Every soldier from grunt to Guardian stood straight and looked up at the catwalk, seeing Jona perched up high with crossed arms. The Knight Captain took a breath and didn't think of his words… he just let them flow.

"Some of you know why we're back here again, and some of you don't, so let me bring you up to speed. Nearly two weeks ago those bigoted cowards in the Cornerian Parliament cut a bad deal with us to further extend the now inevitable possibility of our two peoples going to war. We Verians honored our agreements, we withdrew the protection garrison from Cerinia, in exchange for them removing the blockade keeping us from our asteroid mines in C-12 cluster. We did this to overt war."

He let this knowledge soak into his troops before he continued in his unmistakable strong voice. "We reluctantly withdrew… my father and my grandfather were neither pleased nor welcoming of this development of the negotiations, but we honored it. Now, the people we swore to protect are under attack by an unknown force, and as per our deal with them Corneria expects us to stand by and watch Cerinia burn… Do you want to know what I say to that?"

Jona nearly growled and slammed his balled fist into the railing as the emotion of his speech got hotter the more he projected himself. "To the abyss with the Cornerian Parliament and its deal! We return now to perform the duty we Guardians accepted the moment we received our heartstones! I don't care if you're a Guardian or a grunt, our duty and our goal right this moment is the same! Our duty to the people! To the weak, the suffering, and the defenseless – we return now to protect our families, our friends, our comrades, OUR PEOPLE, from the mindless slaughter that is currently plaguing them!"

Rifles were thrusts into the air as the soldiers roared and cheered in acceptance.

"Thirty seconds," the pilot called over the loudspeaker. Jona jumped the rail and landed on the cargo deck like it was just a short step down to solid ground.

"WARRIORS, ARE YOU PREPARED TO DIE!?" he questioned loudly, himself raising his rifle high.

"FOR OUR PEOPLE!" the soldiers barked out in unison.

"Ten seconds," the pilot came again.

"KNUCKLE UP!" Jona barked once more. The response this time wasn't a battle cry, but the sounds of weapons being loaded and primed, shields being activated, and helmet visors sliding into place. Even the sounds of the vehicle engines firing up resounded in the hold of the ship. Jona closed his eyes for a brief moment before pushing two holographic control tiles on his transmitter, activating his shield and segments of his armor to open up to allow micro-plates to shape and place around his neck, head, and snout, forming his full helm. The crowned talon crest of House Halrand and the Royal Family adorned his helmet alongside that of the VGC between both red lens covered eyes as they glowed in activation.

The demon prince was about to step onto the battlefield once again.

Engines whined as the ship slowed until it hit the ground with a harsh bump, and the ramp actuators hissed as the ramp began to drop. Once the ramp was only halfway down, Jona charged shield first, not bothering to wait until the ramp was completely down so that his soldiers could follow him into the slaughterhouse. His thoughts where on his charges, whether if they were alive or dead. He had to know.

He felt a sickening feeling as soon as his boots touched down on familiar Cerinian soil. His first whiff of the air was not of the local bakeries and marketplaces selling fresh food for its townspeople, but the stench of burning wood and fuel, smoke, and blood. Granite black smoke poured out of damn near every single hut or building that was still standing, the sounds of crackling wood echoing throughout the otherwise cheerful village.

Screaming, yelling, crying, and cursing was a predominant sound from the remaining population, each one either writhing in pain, trying to comfort a loved one, or just doing what they can to help a severely injured warrior, if there were any still breathing. He couldn't divert his eyes from the bodies lining the cobblestone streets, their deep crimson blood seeping through the rocks and drying in the crevices. Small children that couldn't have been older than four or five were crying inconsolably as they sat helplessly near the bodies of their fallen parents. It was a sickening sight for the Guardian.

"Captain," a Verian grunt called out, rushing up to Jona after he had stopped and started staring at the remnants of the village. "Our troops have already scoured the perimeter. No sign of any hostile forces. We're checking the surrounding area as we speak."

Jona growled and kicked a stray brick harshly. "We were too late…" he nearly snarled. "They could be anywhere by now."

"We can't worry about that now," he reminded. "We've got too many injured civilians here to leave behind. Our Guardian duties state that we must attend to the population first."

"Round up whoever you can and get them on the Renown," Jona commanded. "Make sure you check the embassy and the Central Fortress. I've got my charges to look for."

The grunt nodded and rushed off, letting Jona sling his rifle back onto his back as he continued to scan his surroundings, each sight making him want to vomit.

It didn't matter who it was, nobody was spared. Bodies lying in pools of their own blood ranged in size, age, and gender. It wasn't just a slaughter… It was a massacre.

Mothers holding their unresponsive kits. Couples mourning over the loss of their loved ones. Children begging and pleading for their parents to wake up, only for their dreams to be crushed when they did not grant their wishes. Not to mention the absolutely unrelenting carnage covering the streets, ranging from the materials of their houses to the blood of their loved ones. It brought back sickening memories of the last Darkon uprising years ago, in a situation strikingly similar to this. An appalling scene of scattered devastation and unrelenting fury, characterized by blazing structures, billowing smoke, and grieving innocents, begging for their fallen loved ones to wake up and breathe again. It was a hard sight then, and it is a hard sight now.

Only this time… they could have prevented this, and Jona knew it.

"Krystal?" Jona called out, scanning his surroundings for the vixen in question. "Krystal, baby, where are you?"

It was starting to worry the Verian even more hearing no reply. His heart started to quicken pace as he called out once more, his voice noticeably shaking.

"Krystal!" he shouted. "Krystal, please!"

Again, nothing but the sound of grieving civilians and blazing wood and rubble filled his ears. He cursed under his breath and picked up his pace, practically sprinting down the blood-stained cobblestone streets towards the house he had come to know and love. Along the way, he couldn't help but let his seething rage surface more and more after every completely destroyed house or crumpled body lying in the street he saw.

He felt his world slow down to a crawl once he located her house, seeing half of it blown away with nothing but crumpled framework, and the other half slowly burning to the ground. The stench of fuel and explosives permeated his nose as he rushed forward and used his shield to bash down the door, nearly tripping on a twisted corpse he recognized as Krystal's mother lying in the middle of the floor. Not stopping to look around, he immediately located Krystal's room and smashed that door down as well, but much to his dismay the room was completely empty other than a sickening stain of blood on her bedsheets.

"Krystal!" he shouted again, feeling tears well up in his eyes. "Say something!"

Deafening silence other than the blazing house replied. He was starting to lose hope and patience.

He rushed out of the remnants of her house and started scouring the remaining houses, each one containing an indistinguishable corpse or a bloody, sickening mess amongst the piles of rubble and scorching blazes. His tears were starting to flow after the fifth house he checked, with no sign of the most important, or in this case, the _only_ charge he had.

"KRYSTAL!" Jona shrieked at the top of his lungs, beginning to drag his heels against the bloodied cobblestones. When the lack of her beautiful voice replied, Jona finally faced facts and fell to his knees.

She was nowhere to be found.

Amidst the carnage and destruction, he could not find the beautiful vixen. His vixen. He let her down. He was supposed to guard her and her family with his life, and now he didn't have a single one of his charges left. It was sickening to him. He had his responsibility, and he failed them.

Jona clutched at the heartstone around his neck, and it took all of his willpower to not rip the chain off of his neck and throw the beautiful crystal away. He felt like it was his fault – that he let his charges and the entire village die. It couldn't get any worse for him.

"Jona," Anya spoke up softly from behind him, startling him somewhat. "You're gonna want to see this."

"What is it?" Jona questioned impatiently, then immediately winced as he just realized that he had never gotten impatient with her before.

"The fortress," she stuttered. "He drove them back from the gates."

Jona's eyes widened as he sprung up to his feet, immediately picking up his pace to a quick trot as he followed his much smaller apprentice, her shoulder length hair getting blown by the smoke and fuel tainted winds. She took him through the shortest route from their location to the old fortress built into the mountains on the other side of the village.

Jona just realized he wasn't taking video, so he immediately activated the video log on his helmet and took evidence of the decimated structures and brutal carnage that encompassed the entire village. He wanted as much evidence he could to possibly call Corneria out on genocide.

And yes, that was his thought. It was the only answer that made sense.

After walking about a quarter mile, he could see the white iron gates of the fortress sanctuary still bolted shut. As he quickly rushed up to the gates, he saw a large stain of blood smeared across the left side, and when his eyes followed the trail down to the cobblestone pathway and off the path down into the dirt he saw the large armored form of former Knight Commander Roja Griess.

His heart snapped.

Jona felt all the air leave his lungs as he just walked up to the wounded Guardian and knelt beside him. His shield laid at his side, his sword – bloodied and dented only symbolizing excessive usage – was only inches from his hand, and his pistol was still clamped to his armor. Dents, burns, pockmarks, and blood – most of which not his own – adorned the once pristine battle plate. What ripped the younger Guardian's heart out was his leg – from the knee down was mostly missing, and what was left was twisted at an unnatural angle, which was a very sickening and gruesome sight.

This was a violent reminder that Guardians no matter how tough their bodies were or how well made their armor was, they were still flesh and bone under it. They could still be hurt. They could still be killed.

Jona was quiet with his footsteps, as a snap of a twig caused the wounded warrior to flinch.

"About time… you showed up…" Roja coughed, his hand clenching and un-clenching as if to try and ease the pain and blood flow. "So… my prized royal pupil… has finally decided to wise up?"

"I've never slacked off," Jona just shook his head, staring out at the devastated village. "This place looks like hell opened up."

"More like rained from the sky…" the elder guardian grunted, another violent and bloody cough exiting his body, splattering against the mud he was lying in. "I tried to save as many… as I could… I killed so many of those bastards… I lost count... But there was… just… too many of them…"

The prince growled so threateningly that it was hard not to notice. "There is no going back for Corneria after this–"

"It wasn't Corneria," Roja interrupted, catching Jona off guard – not just derailing his train of thought but completely throwing it clear off of its tracks like a toy model. "It was… somebody else…"

"Then who was it?" Jona quickly questioned. "Who's responsible?"

"I know it wasn't Corneria…" he choked out. "Their voices…" he took a deep breath, fighting to stay conscious. "I heard… several different accents… none of them urban sounding…"

Jona felt the weak gesture of Roja's hand clamping down on his arm. "A few of them were Terrans… one of them… kept saying something about… Corneria paying… for what they did to Earth…"

Jona's eyes widened larger than dinner plates.

"I saw the face of one… that I killed," Roja continued, faltering severely. "I… knocked his mask and helmet off… He… wasn't Cornerian… He wasn't even close…"

"Tell me more," Jona pleaded. "I must know who did this."

"They were… using a mix of powder kinetic… and energy weapons… One of their grenades got my leg… One even mentioned… how effective… the weapons that… Aeon provided them where…"

Jona's blood started boiling, but all he did was crouch lower and wrap the older Guardian's arm over his neck.

"Hang on Commander… You can make it," Jona said, but even he couldn't be sure. He was losing blood fast. The pool he was lying in was already so deep that he couldn't help but think it was too late.

"Falx to Sanctuary. I found Griess. He's in real bad shape, I need some help down here now," he said calmly into his visor's mic, radioing back to the embassy in hopes that they heard him.

"We hear you Captain. We're on our way to you now."

"Jona…" Roja gasped, clutching at him tightly with what strength he had. "Tell Talen… tell Xiphos… that Corneria wasn't involved in this… They… didn't do this…" Roja pulled out his pistol and handed to the other dragon.

"No, Roja, I'm saving you," Jona pleaded, but Roja was having none of it. He knew his time was up.

"Take it…" he commanded weakly. "Under my authority… as Commander of this keep and posting… I hereby… pass my title… of Knight Commander on to you… You're in command now… May justice… favor your blade… my prince…" Roja started to black out as the remainder of his strength started to fail.

"Roja! Don't you dare die on me you son of a bitch!" Jona shouted as he kept dragging Roja's now unconscious form to the road just as an Adder pulled up. Several medics stormed out to take hold of the wounded and dying warrior and packed back into the transport, hauling off back towards the embassy. Jona stared at the truck as it disappeared out of view, clutching at his mentor's pistol that rested in the comfort of his claws.

His emotions were running haywire, but even through all of the raging anger and complete befuddlement he still saw an ounce of hope.

Roja locked the gate to the fortress. There was survivors in there.

Jona quickly spun around only to almost butt snouts with Anya.

"Roja?" she called out softly when Jona lowered his head and ears.

"At best, he has a day to live," Jona explained hollowly. "Nobody can survive those kinds of injuries and that amount of blood loss. He'll have enough time to say goodbye to his family, but other than that…"

"And your charges?" Anya asked.

"Yuri and Miya are dead," he choked out as if he was being poisoned as he said it. "I… I can't find Krystal… but I know where she might be."

Jona started walking towards the white iron fortress, but not before swiping Anya's folded spear. He trotted up to the locked gates and sliced the heavy lock off with her spear, then used his shield to smash open the gates, a loud sound comparable to scraping metal in a hollow bowl resounding from the somewhat rusted gates. He practically forced the spear back at her and ran forward, immediately bursting through the main heavy doors.

He breathed a heavy sigh of relief at the sight of almost one hundred Cerinians huddling together, immediately letting out cries of relief at the sight of a Guardian.

"There are survivors in the fortress," Jona said into his transmitter. "Roja held off the invaders to let them–"

Jona stopped in his tracks as he saw an unmistakable frame folded against the left side wall, obviously in overwhelmingly high emotional distress. He dropped his shield and instantly bolted over to the vixen, who just managed to pick her head up in time and let out a loud howl of relief.

"Krystal!" Jona sighed, instantly embracing the thin vixen after she practically jumped into his arms, then proceeded to burst into tears as she held on to her Guardian with all of her strength.

Jona dropped to his knees, letting the vixen get the height advantage on him, while Krystal continuously kept her death grip on him and pressed her muzzle into his shoulder and neck, letting her tears of overwhelming joy flow from her eyes and onto his back.

"I knew you would come back for me," Krystal whispered, unable to speak clearly with her emotional state. She almost sounded like a kitten made to speak with how soft and shaky her voice was.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Jona said softly, gently brushing Krystal's hair. "You are okay, right?"

"I'm fine now that you're here," she answered, but not soon thereafter she let her ears lie flat. "But… my parents…"

"I know sweetie, I saw," the dragon replied sadly. "I'm so sorry. I wish I could've gotten here sooner."

He managed to pick her face out of his neck, smiling as he saw the immense gratitude seeping from the vixen's expression, but he just managed to pick up a little bit of her aura of fear. He outstretched his hand and pressed it just under Krystal's jaw, rubbing at her cheek with his thumb.

"What happened?"

Krystal glanced down at her tattered clothing and managed to pull out Jona's blade that he had given her, and with the flick of her thumb she revealed the blade that was stained with blood, Jona instantly realizing that it wasn't hers.

"It was a human, Jona," she whimpered, giving the bloodied blade to the Guardian. "There were hundreds of Cornerians with a few humans… They destroyed everything… They killed everybody they could find… the human, he… tried to kill me…"

"Krys…" Jona breathed heavily.

"So I did what you taught me," she said, finally letting a very miniscule grin surface. "I stabbed him, then kicked him right between the legs. That got him to screw off."

Jona grinned himself, surprised at the younger vixen's vocabulary. "That's my girl," he snickered.

"But," Krystal interrupted, flattening her ears again. "They just kept coming. I thought we were all gonna die… Then Roja showed up and defended us while we ran to the fortress."

"Roja protected you."

"He did," Krys smiled. "He's a very brave warrior. Is he okay?"

"Unfortunately, no," Jona admitted. "His wounds were too severe. He won't survive."

"I thought Roja didn't fight anymore," Krystal remarked.

Jona exhaled and glanced up at the ceiling. "No matter how old, a Guardian never forgets his duty or how to preform it. They never forget their training or experience. A Guardian is always prepared to die protecting what they care about… and who they love… Believe me Krys, if I was in his shoes, I would do the same thing. I would die protecting the people I love."

Krystal felt a tear well up in her eye as Jona glanced back down at her, his red eyes losing all sense of intimidation. "I love you and your people, Krystal. …I just hate that I wasn't here to help defend. I take the blame for the death of your parents."

"It wasn't your fault," Krystal interrupted. "You wouldn't have been able to know something like this would've happened. I'm just happy that you came back."

"I would never leave you behind," Jona grinned again. "You're family to me Krys. I would never leave a family member behind."

Krystal let out a quiet sob and leaned in for another much needed embrace. The dragon kept rubbing the back of her head in reassurance, just letting her warmth and touch soothe his inner tensions.

"Is Quina alright as well?" Jona asked.

"She's caring for the injured," the vixen answered. "She's alright… thank the gods."

"That's great to hear," Jona exhaled. He looked around the room, completely overflowing with injured and dying warriors and civilians, his heart dropping farther into his stomach. He saw Quina caring for an injured warrior, which gave him a much needed wave of relief, but he still realized what would happen to the rest of the village.

He remembered many Cerinian teachings, one of which directly applied to this current situation. In any case of an invasion or mass genocide among a village that drastically reduces the population, women are subjected to "repopulation" duties. Quina had unwillingly taken part in such an event years ago, but Krystal had never dealt with that kind of hell before. She was too innocent and fragile to take part in such a brutal and savage time, despite it being for a greater good.

As her Guardian, it was his duty to ensure that she was safe. He almost failed her once, and he wouldn't let it happen again.

"Krys," Jona started, gently caressing her cheek. "I don't care what anyone here says, I'm taking you with me. You're coming to Veris Alpha with me to keep you away from what's going to happen if you stay. You and Quina both."

"But, what about the village?" Krystal asked.

"I'm more worried about you," Jona answered. "I almost lost you once, and I won't let it happen while I can say I have a say in it. Krys, you are my only charge, and I'm going to protect you with my life."

"Jona," Krystal tried to but in, but Jona found himself in one of his rants.

"If Corneria won't let us stay here and care for our people, then I'm taking you where I can keep you safe. I'm protecting you from your own people, because they will not care what they do to women, just as long as they can repopulate. I won't let you deal with that."

Jona let a singular tear drip out of his eye as he hugged her tightly. "I love you Krystal, and I won't let anything happen to you. I can promise you that."

"I…" Krystal started, choking on a bit of tears. "I love you too Jona. Thank you for being there for me."

"Anytime, sweetie," Jona grinned. "Tell Quina to meet me at the embassy. I'll authorize you two for boarding, but right now… I've got some unfinished business to take care of."

Krystal gave one last tight hug to the Verian before scooting off. Jona glanced down at his mentor's gun that rested in his holster, and as he pulled it out to stare at it intently he used his other hand to activate his com set.

"This is Knight _Commander_ Falx," he said with a slight smirk at the title, glancing down at the handgun yet again. "Operation Sliver is hereby authorized. Darkon's activity in the Cerinian assault is confirmed. Get Commander O'Donnell prepped and ready for combat. I'll be there in less than seventy-two hours to confirm his deployment."

He let out a miniscule sigh and glanced over at the two Cerinian vixens talking with each other before speaking again.

"If Darkon wants to fight so bad… We'll bring the fight right to him."

* * *

 _Down eyes of shame  
Made to feel dead again  
Your words cut deep  
Your lies are fueled by your need for deceit  
Too scared to speak  
You're only alive when you torture the weak  
Now hear me roar_

 _I will not take this anymore  
These words will never be ignored  
You want a battle, here's a war  
I will not take this anymore  
These words will never be ignored  
You want a battle, here's a war_

 _*Bullet For My Valentine – You Want a Battle?*_


	10. Pipebomb

**S: A/N: Slight delay on this one, mainly because of juggling work and my first semester of senior year (starts way too early for me might I add). I did get a bit of help though, so thanks to Haygood and WhiteWolf again for creating some amazing content. They're the best. :)  
**

 **In regards to that contest to whom it may concern, my story is very close to publication. Too bad I didn't get first though... Heh, I'm just being bitter. Make sure you check out the first contest submission "Sonata's Requiem" by Beyond An Anomaly. It's damn good I must say; sets the bar high for other submissions. Just means I'm gonna have to work my ass off to be better than his! ;)**

 **Anyway guys, pretty tense update here. Tell me what you think as usual. There may be another delay for the next update considering the outside circumstances, but I'll make sure to get it up as soon as I can. Take care fellas!**

* * *

 _Stars still burn bright  
Seasons change overnight  
As we find a way, the times they come and go  
Look back in love  
A new day rises above  
With the wind it comes to carry you back home_

 _All your anger, all your hurt  
Doesn't matter in the end  
Those days go by  
And we all start again  
What you had and what you lost  
They're all memories in the wind  
Those days go by  
And we all start again_

 _*The Offspring – Days Go By*_

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Pipebomb  
**

* * *

It had been a few hours since the Destroyer with Vince inside departed from HQ heading for Katina, and Fox still didn't feel any better. He hadn't felt this sad and empty since his bloodline father was killed, but this time he didn't have another parental-like figure to comfort him

The fact that Vince was abruptly taken from him started a newfound anger towards Parliament. That was his father being shipped off to another colony, and the worst part was he didn't know if that would be the transport Veria finally decides to open fire on. The uncertainty of the entire situation was making him feel helpless, and if there was one thing Fox hated, it was feeling helpless.

Fox sat at his station with all of his instruments turned off, leaning against the lab desk as he flipped the velvety ring box open and closed with his thumb. The click the box made as it shut was drowned out by the other scientists in the room that were busy with their own creations, but with the lack of Vince, Fox found no desire at all to work on anything. All he wanted to work on was a plan to get back together with Vince, but that would be as impossible as trying to reunite with Wolf.

He couldn't control the tears from leaving his eyelids as he continued to stare at the beautiful ring Vince had given him. He quickly stuffed it into his pocket as he heard Arcene's voice on the other side of the lab room's doors, and in normal circumstances he would love to see her, but right now he just wanted to be alone, and she was not going to help that aspect.

"Fox?" she said softly, stepping up behind his folded up frame. "Hey, I heard what happened with Vince. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Fox replied stoically.

"I know how close you are to him, so I wanted to–"

"Thanks," Fox interrupted. "But I don't need anything. I just want to be alone right now, okay?"

"Aw, Fox, please don't be like this," Arcene pleaded. "I know what that means to you, but that doesn't mean you need to hole yourself up–"

"Arcene, please," Fox interrupted yet again in a much harsher voice. "Just leave me alone right now."

It was such a complete flip of emotions from just a few hours ago for Fox that Arcene was genuinely worried about him. She grabbed one of the lab's office chairs and slid it up to him, then after she folded her legs up on the chair she attempted to scoot ever so closer to the orange vulpine.

"Fox," she said almost like a whisper, gently laying her paws on Fox's arm. "I'm only trying to help–"

"Stop bothering me!" Fox suddenly yipped, jerking his arm out of the vixen's grasp. "For the third time Arcene, I want to be alone, alright?! Just go away!"

The silver vixen practically staggered out of her chair in surprise, then after Fox was done speaking she let out a pitiful squeak and folded her ears back. Fox still had his muzzle contracted as he took heavy and long breaths, but it wasn't until he saw a very small, almost microscopic tear slip out of the pit of Arcene's orange eye did he realize what he just did.

For the entirety of their almost three year relationship, he can't ever recall snapping at her. It was as shocking to her just as the realization was to him.

Fox's angry expression slowly faded away to shock and guilt right when Arcene took a step backwards. He folded his ears back after the second step away. He didn't make any movements for fear it would spark a chain reaction, but he immediately regretted his decision not to speak up when Arcene whimpered and spun around, running out of the lab without looking back.

Fox didn't need to think about what he had done. His reluctance to accept her admittedly necessary help ended costing the both of them. Fox knew that this would be the first time Arcene would genuinely be upset with him, and it would be the first time on record that he would have upset someone he loved.

…Second… …Second time he's upset someone he loved…

Fox cringed, causing the tears in his eyes to well up around his tightly shut eyelids. He just realized something. Something he, in all honesty, didn't want to remember.

The last time he yelled like that was towards his father six years ago… the last time he was able to "talk" to his father before his untimely departure.

Now that he thought about it even more, Fox indirectly mimicked his father in his reluctance to accept help. Arcene was only there to help and comfort him in his time of emotional distress, and all he did was push her away, just like his father pushed away everyone he loved in his emotional state.

Fox himself even said he didn't want to mimic his father, but every wrong thing he did – snapping at Arcene for a prime example – made him think like he was turning into him.

Only this time, he would try and reconcile before everything got worse.

Fox mustered enough strength to lift himself out of his office chair and proceeded to attempt to chase Arcene down. He rolled up the sleeves on his lab coat and stormed out of the lab space, then about slipped on the glossy floor as he spun around to try and look for her. Knowing she might be back in her quarters, he trotted forward and briskly walked towards the other side of the massive HQ.

"McCloud!" Falco shouted from the reception desk. "What're ya doin' bud?"

"Did you see Arcene come through this way?" Fox questioned urgently, practically running up to the blue avian.

"Haven't seen her," he answered frankly. "Although, Fara told me that she needs to talk to you… like, _now_."

"Well, you need to tell her she needs to wait," Fox replied sternly, but quickly in an attempt to get out of the conversation so that he could continue his search for the silver vixen.

"And she told me that if you tried that excuse she would have your tail," Falco retorted. "I'll look for Arcene for ya bud; you just go talk to Fara."

"No, I need to find Arcene _right_ _now_ ," Fox argued. "I need to apologize to her."

"Fox," Falco interrupted, placing a wing over Fox's shoulder. "Calm down buddy. I will go find Arcene for you, but in the meantime you need to scoot your way over to the infirmary and find 'ol Big Ears. I'm being serious here, she _needs_ to talk to you."

Fox fought with himself for a while before he finally nodded. "Alright. How much did she pay you to convince me?"

"Twenty plus lunch," Falco admitted with a smug smirk, shrugging his head. "And she said she'd buy you lunch if you talked to her."

Fox nodded, but right before he turned away he looked Falco in the eye and sighed.

"If you find Arcene… tell her… Tell her I'm sorry."

With that, the vulpine spun around and let a quiet whimper surface after walking away.

 _What could possibly so important?_

Fox eventually found his way into the infirmary, a small section of the HQ in between the hangars and the mess hall. Small is noted, because this particular infirmary was specifically for the pilots that were injured during exercises, and there were only ten separate cots for examinations in this area. Fara was the only one inside, staring at a clipboard with her left shoulder covered in bandages from a few days prior. He tentatively stepped forward, making sure that the fennec still wasn't upset with him for the incident that ripped the aforementioned hole in her shoulder.

His assumptions were proven wrong when Fara noticed him, her eyes glazed over red from apparent crying. Fox abandoned his presumed short temper with her and couldn't resist going into "care-mode"

"Fara?" Fox questioned, stepping forward. "Falco said you needed to talk. What's up?"

Fara stayed silent, placing the clipboard on the nearby medical bed.

"Whatever it is, can we please make it quick?" Fox pleaded. "I have a feeling Arcene is upset with me and I need to talk to her."

The sandy vixen continued to stay silent, taking step after short step towards the taller vulpine.

"I don't mean to sound pushy, but please get on with it," Fox said impatiently. "What do you need that was so important that I needed to come see you right–"

Fox was cut off as Fara unexpectedly grabbed his face and forced him closer, pressing her muzzle into his and refusing to let go. Fox's wide emerald eyes stayed open in shock for the entire duration of the ten second passionate kiss, and before he could throw in his exclamation after Fara pulled back he felt her head bury itself into his chest.

"I'm so sorry Fox!" she whimpered in defeat, tilting her large ears back behind her head. "I'm sorry for everything!"

"Woah, Fara, what's going on?" Fox questioned, trying to pry her fuzzy head out of his chest.

"I…" she started, fighting through her emotions. "I made a mistake Fox. I miss you. I miss being with you."

"I thought you hated me after… that," he pointed to her injured shoulder. "And well… everything between us."

"If I could take back what I said to you Fox, I'd do it in a heartbeat," Fara squeaked. "I never realized how much… how much of a bitch I was to you until I walked out on you. I never realized how much I needed you until I pushed you away."

"Is that what you needed to get off your chest?" Fox asked, surprisingly with no hostility whatsoever.

"I wanted to tell you that I want you back," Fara blurted out without any hesitation. "I'm… I'm a mess without you Fox. I understand if you don't feel the same way because of you and Arcene, but I-I-I'll do anything to get back together with you."

Fox sighed and scooted backwards so that he could sit down on the nearest cot. "I… didn't know I meant that much to you… But, why'd you break up with me earlier if you knew that you were a mess without me?"

"That's the thing, I'd didn't know I did until… until I lost you," Fara explained. "I'll admit I was an awful partner to you, but that was because… because I didn't know how much you actually meant to me. Yeah, I was upset when I broke up with you, and I was furious when I accidentally shot myself, but it wasn't until I was sitting on that cot you're in right now, alone, waiting for clearance to get back up and train again that I realized how much I needed you. I was too selfish and tried to keep you to myself too much… and after I lost you I realized that's not how I should act."

Fara gingerly sat down next to Fox and looked him straight in the eyes, transmitting her inner emotions without even having to speak. "I'm sorry Fox. I'm sorry I did this to you."

Fox let a breath out of his nose and shut his eyes. "I accept your apology," he said softly, causing Fara's ears to perk up, but she still looked concerned when he didn't show very much emotion after the fact. "Does that mean we're back together again?"

Fara cocked her head. "Well, that… that's up to you… Why do you ask?"

"It's nothing," Fox said unconvincingly. At least, unconvincing to the tan vixen.

"Fox, seriously, what's wrong?" Fara asked. "Is it because of Arcene? Is that why you needed to talk to her?"

Fox sighed and nodded. "I accidentally blew up at her, and now she's probably upset with me."

"Why? What happened?"

"Ah, it's nothing," Fox attempted a grin. "I was… just really upset about Vince leaving. I just wanted a bit of alone time to collect my thoughts, I guess… and that's when I yelled at Arcene to leave me alone. She ran out crying… I probably hurt her more than if I actually hit her."

Fox practically saw the fennec's heart melt right then and there. She let out a sympathizing quiet sigh and inched closer to the taller vulpine, wrapping her uninjured arm around him.

"I'm sorry Fox," she said softly. "I know how much she means to you."

"She means the world to me," Fox said without hesitation, grinning sheepishly at the vixen. "No offense."

"None taken," Fara smiled. "I know what you're dealing with. Tell you what; after I'm done with a few things around base, you want me to go talk to her?"

"I'd appreciate it," Fox replied. "I'd like to talk to her myself as well if that's okay. I honestly think she'll take it better if I tell her."

Fara nodded in understanding and attempted to stand up, only for Fox to grab her arm before she could completely stand up.

"Also, Falco mentioned something about lunch?" Fox said with a smug grin, winking at the fennec. Fara giggled and bit her lower lip, swishing her tail as she slowly walked away.

"Then what are you waiting for, bud?" Fara taunted. "Let's go. You don't want to keep your second girl waiting, do you?"

The orange vulpine grinned to himself at Fara's remark, then after collecting his thoughts he stood up and nodded.

"Not any longer than I have to."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

The tension, uncertainty, and overall confusion in the room was so thick that Sheila had trouble breathing.

The news broke to them less than an hour ago that Cerinia was attacked, and twenty minutes ago they just found out Jona's relief group touched down on the surface. Information was coming to her tablet at a very slow trickle, like a leaky gutter during a light spring shower, and it honestly drove the light copper husky insane.

Truth be told, she was scared. She was not only scared for the Cerinians who now had to live with an uncertain future, but for the culprit of the brutal attacks as the uncertainty of whether or not they would strike again loomed overhead. She was very worried about Corneria as well, because she had her speculations that Corneria had direct affiliation with whoever, or _whatever_ caused the hell upon Cerinia.

Her tablet rang again with a sound only comparable to a muffled door chime, and as she glanced down to read the message the still silence plaguing her cadets finally broke.

"What's happening now Commander?" Mel, the brown female dragon asked.

"Everything is all clear," Sheila replied, breathing a sigh of relief. "No hostile forces anywhere on the surface."

She picked up her face and forced a small smile, but that attempt at reassurance faded instantly once she saw the Cerinian hybrid Jadyn's completely blank expression. She looked downright miserable, that was self-explanatory since that was her heritage being burned to the ground. Sheila's heart melted instantly, and she immediately dropped her tablet and walked up to her.

"I know sweetie," the husky said reassuringly. "I'm just as scared as you are."

"Do they know who?" Jadyn whimpered pitifully, restraining the tears from flowing down her cheeks.

"Nobody knows yet," Sheila answered. "I'm getting information very slowly. I'll be sure to tell you when it comes to me."

"Thank you ma'am," Jadyn forced a grin. Sheila smiled back and stepped back over to her desk, just as her tablet chimed again. She immediately pounced on it to read the message, but to her dismay did not include any information about the attack. Just a message to her cadets that she needed to relay.

"Alright, message from HQ," the canine spoke firmly, getting her cadets' attention right away. "Because of this terrible tragedy, they want everyone on stand-by until they can confirm a universal all-clear. Basically, you guys should report to Commandant Connolly down in hangar seven and wait for his word. You guys are dismissed."

A chorus of low groans of disapproval followed the six Verian cadets as the reluctantly withdrew from the light copper husky's lecture room. Sheila was going to follow them, but as soon as she slipped her light and thin RVAF sweater over her shoulders her transmitter rang. She didn't even bother to look at the caller ID as she was instantly speaking.

"What's going on?" she immediately questioned.

"Woah, Sheila, calm down," a voice she instantly recognized as Jona replied, obviously surprised at the husky's impulsive outburst. Sheila immediately gasped and blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh, Jona," she sighed in relief. "You're alright. Sorry about snapping at you, I'm just really flustered right now."

"You have no idea," Jona countered tiredly. "I'm exhausted, scared, and… I… I don't even know anymore."

"Is Krystal okay?" the husky asked with no hesitation.

"That's what I needed to talk to you about," Jona said softly, yet confidently. "She's perfectly fine, but I need you to take her and her friend in when we dock. They need a safe place to stay."

"Aww, you took them in?" Sheila nearly squealed in happiness.

"I had to," Jona responded. "I wasn't gonna let them stay there. It's too dangerous for them." He took a quick, shallow breath to keep himself under control. "So, will you be willing to take them?"

"Of course Jona," Sheila smiled. "I've always wanted to meet Krystal. Is she really as beautiful as you always say?"

"I can't put it into words… you'll just have to see for yourself."

"I will," she grinned again, popping up on her desk and crossing her legs. "So, what time are you dropping by?"

"It'll take a day or two since the warpdrive on the _Renown_ is burnt out after that quick trip over here," Jona explained. "After we dock, I'll just drop them off at your place in the Manor, 'cause I need to get back to HQ to help Wolf prep for his mission."

"So that _did_ get approved?"

"Yeah, unfortunately, we confirmed Darkon's activity in this attack, so he is officially a _major_ threat. We need Wolf to eliminate him as soon as possible."

Sheila nearly growled and lowered her voice. "I'll make sure Wolfy wipes the floor with that terrorist piece of trash. He has no business terrorizing the Cerinians."

"Tell me about it," Jona groaned. "Can you make sure that Wolf is at HQ tomorrow to that I can get him–"

"He's already there," Sheila interrupted. "I think he's talking with your step-dad about the situation right now. He's the one that cleared him, right?"

"Yup, that's him," Jona said happily. "Good to know She. And thanks again for taking Krys in for me. I owe you big time."

"Hey, it's not a problem big guy," Sheila smiled again. "Just make sure she _gets_ here, alright?"

"You don't have to worry about that," Jona chuckled. "Just make sure she has a place to lay her head down. She's had a rough day."

"You got it," the husky nodded. "See you then Jona."

"See ya sweetie."

Sheila giggled out loud after she cut the link, feeling that warm happiness brew in her stomach. Although the circumstances were extremely crummy and unfavorable, she was finally going to meet Jona's favorite charge. She honestly couldn't wait to see her.

In fact, she was feeling extremely excited to see her, so much so that she started feeling strange. That warmth she would always get when she was happy or excited was starting to exponentiate, and her excitement quickly transitioned to worry. Her happy and outgoing personality instantly capped itself as she started feeling sick to her stomach.

It wasn't because of how excited or how worried she was, because even after she calmed herself down she still felt the roller coaster in her stomach intensify. It was just so sudden and so unexpected that she didn't know how to react to it. In fact, she couldn't even take a step forward before that displeasure in her stomach exploded out of her and onto the floor.

Her throat started burning as stomach acid started eating away at the mucus lining her throat after most of the contents of her belly were forcefully ejected from her muzzle. She hacked repulsively and coughed violently after her sickness settled, staring at the gunk with wide eyes and a fast beating heart.

"What the hell…?" she whispered, swallowing hard to try and stop her throat from burning. That action only added to her physical state as she slumped back into her chair, tightly grasping at her churning midsection as if that would try and settle its erratic and spastic movements. She sat in her chair and took heavy and long breaths to steady her sickness and calm her nausea, because even the slightest movement or wrong breath caused the acid in her stomach to rise and burn.

This wasn't just a simple unsettled stomach, because if it was it would have settled itself by now. Sheila was fighting with herself to not vomit again, occasionally heaving dryly as her muscles convulsed and contorted uncontrollably. Minutes went by, and she still didn't feel any better. Something was wrong.

"Come on Sheila," she mumbled to herself, gently and slowly picking herself up. "Let's just… get… to the… med… bay… before–"

She stopped herself as another dry heave caused her back to arch and her muzzle to contort in a nasty, repulsive hack that echoed in the doorway. She instantly realized that she was very ill if this persistent stomach bug continued to make her feel sick. Using the hallway walls as a crutch, she staggered down to the medical bay that was conveniently at the end of the long hallway. Upon entering, a slender-snouted dark gray nurse instantly approached her and helped her stabilize her faltering frame.

"Are you alright, Sheila?" she asked, leading her to one of the many open medical cots.

"I don't know," she sputtered. "I got sick in my classroom, and… I just feel sick and it won't go away."

"Alright, lay down please," she suggested calmly, to which the husky obliged and gently laid herself on the bed, making sure not to aggravate her nausea again. "I've got a little home remedy for you to take. One-hundred percent effective if it is just a minor stomach bug."

"And if it doesn't work?" Sheila said questioningly, gingerly taking the small shot-glass-like container from the female Verian's claws.

"If it doesn't work," the nurse started, grabbing a clipboard up and looking at the husky seriously. "Then either you've got a very serious illness, or…"

"Or what?" she questioned impatiently.

The female Verian smirked and flipped a page on her clipboard.

"Or we're going to have to call your husband."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Xiphos?" Talen tried to reason, unnoticeably fidgeting with his uniform. "We're flying right into the heart of the LHC. Don't you think this is a bad idea to do yourself?"

The golden king shook his head gently. "No… I need to do this. Doing this in person is the easiest way to reach our goal of restoring stability and possibly bringing Muzzin back to sense." He closed his eyes with somewhat sad confidence, bowing his head towards the window he was staring at. "And besides, Serena is riding our wing. Only a fool would challenge her battleship. The CDF will keep their distance, if they know that ship's history."

"Re-commissioning the _Arclight_ was actually a necessary choice, given what just happened to Cerinia…" the Commandant remarked. "But was it wise to actually bring a literal " _fleet killer_ " to this negotiation? I mean, with her plasma enhanced reactor she can decimate twenty ships of our own design unassisted – hell she _has_ destroyed twenty ships we designed after they were stolen by Darkon during the last uprising. If it can do that to our ships, think of how well the Cornerian ships would fair."

"I'm familiar with Serena's battle record Talen…" Xiphos replied tiredly, trying to silence the copper dragon's monologue. "She's using her genetic traits and attributes along with your training, to be an extremely competent and skillful commander." He let a slight smirk surface and turned to face him. "Surely you could take some notes?"

Talen chuckled to himself and started pacing, continuously looking out the window as the streaks of space dust just sped on by his ship and its attending flotilla traveling though hyperspace. Xiphos' vacant gaze was slightly concerning his Commandant, so much so that he couldn't stay silent anymore.

"Sire?"

"To answer your first question, about if this was the right idea or not… Yes," King Xiphos nodded. "Because for two reasons… First, Corneria is too unpredictable… I wouldn't doubt that Muzzin would try to order us repelled under Wes' nose."

Xiphos let out a breath of hot air that fogged his window. "Secondly, I have a bad feeling that something catastrophic going to happen either before or after this meeting."

"How so sire?" Talen asked.

"I'm not sure, but… knowing what just happened to Cerinia, and the fact that we have a very vague idea of who our culprit is because of the information the late Knight Commander Griess managed to relay to us, Muzzin's paranoia may come out again. If I'm right in saying that Muzzin had direct affiliation with this heartless attack on our people, he may see us coming and attempt to defend himself."

"So… why the _Arclight_ and not the _Atlas_?" Talen questioned.

"Because we need the _Arclight's_ power – Serena was adamant about that," the king chuckled in admittance. "That and the _Atlas_ has already been tasked with protecting a transport bound for Papetoon."

"You assigned our second Vanguard class battleship to protect a solitary transport!?" the copper dragon nearly spat out, eyes wide in shock and utter confusion. "You're giving Wolf orbital support for his mission?"

"Of course not, it's simply for intimidation," he corrected. "You know as well as I do that an unprotected transport is a tempting target, but the _Atlas_ would insure that no CDF ship or fighter gets remotely within firing range, especially with _who_ and _what_ is on that cargo transport. We can't afford to have Corneria suddenly pull a trick out of their ass and destroy that transport."

This eased the Commandant's concerns somewhat, but the king could still see the evident hesitance in the copper dragon's askance glances towards the streaking stardust littering the windows. "And the second question, sire?"

The look in Xiphos' eyes was unmistakable, that of pure confidence, but with evident worry. "The Vanguards – the _Arclight_ and the _Atlas_ both – would crush them. Attacking a Vanguard or anything that they protected is a death wish, unless if either the battleship or the ship it was escorting took damage, then that death wasn't _just_ assured… it was guaranteed. I'm not worried about the lives of our own soldiers, I know they will survive, but I'm more concerned about the lives that would be lost on the other side due to their commander's shortsightedness. To be frank, son, this is basic Cornerian tactics."

"Aye, this I know sire," Talen grumbled. "But if Corneria _was_ behind this – implying that the late Commander Griess' information was incorrect and Corneria _did_ have direct affiliation with the fall of Cerinia – if they see us coming with the Arclight, they'll panic and do something drastic. I'm only trying to be careful sire."

"And being careful is what is going to kill millions," Xiphos deadpanned. "If we let Corneria get away with such appalling actions, if your assumption is right of course… They won't stop here. They'll go after others, and if we let it escalate that far the Cornerians won't be put back down without a fight. The casualty numbers will exponentiate, and… I can't let that happen… not again…"

That brief moment of dwelling in the past almost made Xiphos stumble when the jumpdrive disengaged and the streaking stardust streams shrunk into tiny particles of distant stars and reflecting dust. Not only that, but Corneria was only a few hundred kilometers away, and it put a smile on the copper Commandant's snout seeing the planet so quickly.

"Set coordinates for Headquarters – Downtown Corneria City," Talen spoke calmly, but firmly. "If you're so sure about Corneria, sire, the least we could do is head straight for the capital. I'm just anxious that they might do something drastic, like I said."

"They won't," Xiphos smiled in confidence. "For one, they won't do anything with the _Arclight_ just outside of the atmosphere, and two… an old friend of mine won't allow a single fighter to be launched at us, let alone authorize counterattacks."

Talen nodded and paced over to the communications bay, hoping to pick up a few of the conversations between ground control and their comms deck. They slowly lowered their cruiser down into the atmosphere, punching through a heavy layer of clouds in the process, and once the sea below became visible they started picking up signals.

"Destroyer _Valliant_ , you have no authorization to be in Cornerian airspace," A Cornerian controller announced firmly, seemingly unfazed by the sight of a Verian cruiser.

"Wait," Xiphos said softly, placing a hand over Talen's shoulder as he reached for a headset to reply with.

"Destroyer _Valliant_ , state your intentions," that same controller barked out after a brief silence.

"Keep course," Xiphos damn near whispered. "Just… wait…"

"Destroyer _Valliant_ , if you do not state your intentions or change course immediately, we will have interceptors in the air in less than ten seconds."

Xiphos raised three clawed fingers in the air, and every second he would drop one back into his fist along with a faint nod of his head. Just when he retreated his final finger, the faint _pop_ and _thud_ coming from the caller signaled that the line had been forcefully transferred to a different station, the caller this time speaking in such an accent that Xiphos couldn't keep a straight face.

"My apologies, Lord Xiphos," the new controller apologized. "Authorization for a landing has been cleared. Please begin your decent – I will be there to ensure your safety."

Xiphos nodded his head and chuckled in success as Talen removed himself from the communications deck, a proud smile creasing his snout.

"Who?" Talen questioned, unable to hold back a smirk.

"The only one capable of giving such a command," was all Xiphos replied with as he removed himself from the main bridge and prepared himself for the landing planet-side. Talen decided to follow the golden dragon down into the main hold of Xiphos' personalized Destroyer, and right when the king in question abandoned his usual formal getup for something frillier, the cruiser touched down with a harsh jerk.

"I see you want to make a rather extravagant appearance?" Talen chuckled.

"Believe me, I don't want to wear this any longer than I have to," Xiphos grunted, adjusting the rather awkward royalty garb on his shoulders. "Best to be dressed for the occasion."

"You're making me seem underdressed," Talen remarked mirthfully.

"That was the plan," Xiphos countered with a smirk, before throwing a rifle at him that he just narrowly caught in time. "Guardian."

"You can't be serious, sire," the copper Commandant shook his head gently.

"This, hopefully, is just diplomatic talks," Xiphos explained. "I don't want a Commandant of the VGC in that same room if the topic isn't about military tactics. For here and here only, you are my personal protector. Maybe to add on the act, try to be a little more… protective, if I can go as far as saying that."

Talen chuckled and primed the weapon. "Not a problem, sire."

"Just don't let that twitchy finger of yours show up," the king added with a smile, giving the Commandant a nudge to signal his intentions. They both exited the cruiser after a brief hissing from the hydraulics, the light from the sun reflecting off of the tarmac temporarily blinding the two dragons. They both took the initiative and stepped off of the ramp onto the tarmac, taking a few steps away as the engines behind them whirred down. Within moments after the King and Commandant left the comfort of their Destroyer, a familiar figure Xiphos instantly recognized came into view. He abandoned all formalities and immediately inched forward to greet the General.

"Wes!" Xiphos chuckled, grasping the wolf-dog's paw in a rather informal, yet firm and friendly handshake. "Great to see you my friend."

"You as well Xiphos," Wes replied, showing signs of genuine happiness. "I take it your flight here wasn't too troublesome, other than… well, earlier."

Xiphos couldn't help but chuckle and nod. "Everything went perfectly fine. Thank you for stepping in though. I didn't want to get involved, but I knew you would say something sooner or later."

"Just doing my job," the Cornerian chuckled, twitching his ears. "Somebody at least has to."

"Yes, I'm fully aware of the… rather unfortunate regime you must endure day in and day out," Xiphos replied. "Which is why I've come on such short notice. I assume you know of the terrible fate that has befallen our beloved sister planet Cerinia?"

"Indeed I do, and I send my sincerest condolences to everyone involved," Wes said with evident concern. "We _will_ get to the bottom of this, and I can assure you that I will assist you and your people in finding and apprehending the culprits."

"Thank you Wes, but I can't ask that much of you and your army," Xiphos said calmly.

"Please, it would be an honor to assist the VGC," Wes grinned. "I've always had an affinity for your army and technology. To say that I was able to assist such an army would be a great accomplishment."

"And what would Muzzin say about that?" Xiphos blurted out, to which the wolf-dog rolled his eyes.

"You know good and well that I couldn't care less about what he thinks," Wes damn near growled. "In fact, while you're here, I would like you to speak with him. He's adamant about your kind colluding with other parties in attempts to plot against him, and that paranoia is starting to affect his work. If you could give him a bit of reassurance that you and the entire VGC don't have anything against him… that would be great."

"Anything for you my friend," The king replied with a grin, but on the inside he was extremely reluctant to talk to the wolf that has caused so much pain and controversy amongst his people. He forced himself to follow the hybrid General into the main white-iron HQ building, and within moments was en route to the Prime Minister's office.

"He's not expecting any guests for a few hours, but I highly doubt that he has anything else better to do with his time," Wes joked.

"The last time I was here he was eating breakfast while I was trying to talk to him about the transports with Papetoon," Xiphos smirked.

"Speaking of that," the hybrid butted in politely. "We've been having issues containing Papetoon as of recently. Senator Monroe has been openly rebelling against the CDF, and we're running out of ideas to keep them in the LHC. The last attempt we tried to get them under control ended with over twenty dead soldiers and a totaled Escort class Destroyer. We don't have these resources to throw away."

"I know, my friend, I know," Xiphos spoke tiredly, unintentionally showing his true age with the way he spoke. "I'd like to do something about this, but Muzzin won't let me authorize any ground troops there to possibly put this uprising down. I'm hoping I get lucky in being able to send a very important parcel to Papetoon in the next twenty-four hours, but after that I can't do anything. Not without it seeming as an invasion."

"Trust me Xiphos, I will not allow war to spark just because you're trying to help," Wes answered with confidence. "What is this parcel, may I ask?"

"Senator Monroe's youngest daughter Sara is very ill," the king replied. "I promised him prescriptions to combat her illness. Usually our medicine doesn't work well with Cornerians, but he's desperate. The only thing we can do is try to help."

Wes nodded and shut his eyes, then eventually exhaled softly and turned his head to face the dragon. Xiphos took particular concern to the general's actions, mainly because he could detect his aura of worry and uncertainty.

"I need to ask you something very important, Xiphos," the wolf-dog said abruptly, overwhelming hesitance plaguing his words.

"What is it my friend?" he asked concernedly.

Wes exhaled again and inched closer as he hushed his voice considerably. "Will you be willing to take Kirsten and Kimmy back to Veris with you?"

Xiphos' jaw dropped in utter shock. "Wes, that's your wife and daughter. Your _family_. I can't take them away from you."

"No, Xiphos, you don't understand," the hybrid interrupted. "They are my family, yeah, I love them with my entire heart, and that's why I want you to take them. The thing is…" He paused briefly to gather his thoughts. "I'm afraid… I'm afraid something is going to happen to them if they stay here. Muzzin hates me – you don't need me to explain why – but he doesn't know about my family. Truth be told, the only people that know about them are the people I can trust."

"Victor doesn't know about Kirsten or Kimmy?" the dragon asked.

"No, because if he did… I… I have no idea what would happen to them," Wes nearly choked out. "Please, I need you to give them a place to stay on Veris."

"I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not," Xiphos admitted.

"Xiphos, please," Wes pleaded, showing more emotion that the king had ever seen out of him before. "I don't know what I would do if my family was hurt or killed because they stayed here in the line of fire."

"Nothing is going to happen," the king grinned, but the wolf-dog was right there to cut him off.

"I don't care about preventing any of this right now," Wes retorted calmly. "I just want to know that my family will be safe. I… I told Kirsten I wanted to keep her and our daughter safe, and… this is the only way I can be assured they are. You don't have to give them very much; I just want them out of harm's way."

Xiphos sighed a thoughtful sigh and eventually nodded. "Okay. I'll give them both a safe place to stay in the Manor. I can assure you that they will both be safe there."

Wes smiled happily and flicked his tail. "Thank you so much Lord Xiphos. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"I have a general idea," Xiphos countered mirthfully, sharing a lighthearted laugh with the hybrid. "I can't say I've ever met Kirsten in person before."

"Really, you've never met her? Head shorter than I am? Hybrid like me, only more wolf-like?" Wes asked, to each question Xiphos shook his head. "Aw, that's a shame. I wish I could be there to introduce you two."

"How'd you two meet?"

"She was one of the nurses on the Great Fox that took care of me during the war six years ago," Wes explained, grinning as he imagined the scene in his head again. "We were one of the many couples that formed on that day. She loved me, I loved her back… we wouldn't have it any other way… Pretty soon we were married and not too long after that we had Kimmy… …I'm just happy that we were able to keep it under wraps for so long."

"It is a very nice story," Xiphos smiled. "Heartwarming to say the least."

Wes was about to answer, but stopped himself as an unmistakable black vixen wound the corner and walked past him, avoiding eye contact. Xiphos was a little unsettled that the vixen didn't bother to give a salute, let alone wear more appropriate clothing since all she had on was what looked to be a flight suit cut short with a skirt, rather than the usual tight leggings, for apparent and less than subtle "easy access". The golden dragon turned to face the wolf-dog and immediately saw how his demeanor had completely flipped.

Wes let his eyes grow larger as he saw that Prime Minister Muzzin's door was slightly cracked open, and he let a growl surface in the back of his throat as he stormed forward.

"Wes, hold on," Xiphos grunted, grabbing the general's shoulder before he could get out of arm's reach. "Who was that?"

"James' bitch," Wes snapped scornfully, removing himself from the king's grasp and harshly pushing the Minister's door open.

Muzzin jumped at the sudden entrance, almost punching himself in the face as he was too busy retying his tie. He bared his teeth and stood out of his chair, revealing that his white shirt had been partially untucked and wrinkled.

"Can you be bothered to knock, _general_?" Muzzin scolded, putting his arms through his black blazer.

"Can you be bothered to have a sense of decency, _minister_?" Wes retorted, putting roughly the same inflections on his voice that the red wolf did.

"This is Corneria's Prime Minister?" Talen asked Xiphos under his breath while the two canids were bickering. "I'm not convinced."

"Neither was I the first time I met him," Xiphos answered him back quietly. "He's a powerful man that lets that power get to his head. Now you see why I don't normally invite others to meetings with him, especially you… …no offense."

"None taken si–" Talen cut himself off, replacing his indifferent expression with one of utter disgust. "…Is… that…?" he started, but couldn't bring himself to finish as he pointed at the minister's desk. Xiphos noticed what he was referring to and nearly gagged himself.

"I leave you alone for two hours and you're already balls-deep in James' bitch?!" Wes snarled.

"What business do you have in my personal matters?" Muzzin countered, catching the disgusted looks on the two Verian's faces and traced it back to the rubber hanging off the side of his desk. He slyly pushed it into the waste bin behind his desk and continued to interrogate the wolf-dog. "This is _my_ office!"

"I could give two shits about whose office this is," Wes retorted. "What I care about is you breaking specific protocol that she knows good and well because she's broken it before. Now you're gonna do the same damn thing?"

"Alright, Wes, you've made your point," Xiphos interrupted calmly.

"And who let king lizard into my building?" Muzzin growled, curling his eyebrows downward. "I suggest you get him out of here, general."

"Like hell I will," Wes snapped. "He has a few things he wants to discuss with you, Victor."

"Well he's gonna have to find someone else willing to listen," Muzzin answered, clenching and unclenching his hands.

"I believe that someone is you, Victor," Xiphos said matter-of-factly, taking a few steps into the office. "This directly pertains to you, so I advise that you listen up."

"I don't take suggestions from you, goldie," Muzzin shot scornfully, feeling his blood pressure skyrocket to very uncomfortable levels as a result of his arguments and his earlier intimate actions behind closed doors.

"I'm not suggesting you listen," Xiphos started, inching closer to the smaller wolf. "I'm demanding that you listen."

Muzzin took particular offense to that remark and took a few angry steps forward, but stopped when Talen pulled his rifle up to his eyes, pointing it directly at the minister. Muzzin stuck his paws up immediately and backed away, showing evident and overwhelming signs of genuine fear while Xiphos wrapped his hand around the muzzle of the rifle and pushed it down without even looking at the weapon in question.

"Easy," he said gruffly. "Sorry, minister. It's just that my Guardian doesn't take too kindly to hostility. I hope you understand."

"You're pushing it…" Talen muttered silently through clenched teeth.

"Are you threatening me?" Muzzin spat.

"Well, considering the other threats you make to _him_ ," Wes butted in. "I believe he's just taking a page from your book, Victor."

"Stay out of this, _hybrid_ ," Muzzin growled, licking his chops. "I will handle this."

"If it's anything like how you _handle_ your other business, maybe you should let Wes in here," Xiphos countered, grinning smugly to himself.

"You listen here you disgraceful–"

"No, you listen to _me_ , Victor," Xiphos interrupted firmly. "From my understanding of the whole Cerinian attack incident, you are not off the hook as a potential culprit."

"You think the attack on your fuzzy blue savages' world was _my_ fault?" Muzzin nearly laughed out loud. "Anyone in their right mind would tell you I didn't authorize anything against them."

"Other than retracting the VGC, thank you," Xiphos breathed heavily. "At least Cerinia is a part of the VGC now, as the remaining chiefs on the planet elected to finally join in as an official Verian colony, but there are too many lives on _your_ paws for _forcing_ me to retract the VGC, minister."

"You're gonna bring that up as an excuse?"

"It's not an excuse, it's an answer," the king said sternly. "If I wouldn't have agreed to that awful negotiation terms this conversation wouldn't even be happening, and thousands of Cerinians would still be alive."

"Well, you did," Muzzin spat. "You agreed to those terms, and we went our separate ways. Now you're gonna come back and bitch about it?"

"Thousands of innocents were slaughtered, Muzzin," Xiphos reminded. "Does that not matter to you?"

"Millions died to the humans and we didn't get so much as an apology for that!"

"Oh boy, here we go again," Talen grumbled under his breath.

"There were Terrans involved in Cerinia's attack!" Xiphos uncharacteristically snapped. Muzzin's eyes instantly shot wide open as his tail seemed to deflate.

"Oh shit…" Muzzin whispered under his breath, slowly backing towards his desk. "Oh fuck… no… no, no, no, fucking no."

"Now do you see why I needed to talk to you?" Xiphos questioned as Muzzin cupped his head in his paws. "We have definitive evidence that there were Terrans involved in this attack, along with Cornerian DNA, and the only army that matches that description of Terrans and Cornerians is _your_ CDF."

Muzzin smiled nervously and shook his head. "Xiphos, I… I'm sorry I snapped at you, but… I didn't have anything to do with this. A-a-ask Wes, he'll vouch for me."

"I hate to say it, but Muzzin is right for once," Wes agreed. "We keep our human soldiers tightly monitored. This human involvement isn't on our paws."

"Then the only logical answer would be Terra itself," Xiphos muttered. "And that's… impossible…"

"Wait, sire, it's not impossible," Talen butted in. "Remember the Cornerian cruiser we crippled?"

"WHAT?!" Muzzin barked, ignored by both Verians.

"The _Great Fox_ was the IFF frequency of that ship," Talen continued. "It wouldn't be impossible for the Terrans to rebuild that ship, then pilot it all the way out here."

"Son of a bitch, you're right," Xiphos grunted. "And that Destroyer landed on Fichina. …Contact an available Destroyer and have it land on Fichina to search for our culprit."

"Oh no you don't," Muzzin growled.

"Excuse me?" Xiphos questioned.

"I know what this is," the wolf sneered. "This is just a ruse so that you and your army have a reason to invade _my_ colony."

" _Excuse me_?" the king echoed angrily.

"Don't play dumb with me," Muzzin bared his teeth. "Don't think I don't know what you're planning! You're just acting this up to try and get a justification for invading and taking over my colony! Well it's not gonna work bub! Not in your lifetime!"

"Heh, that's saying something," Talen remarked under his breath.

"Victor, I'm only looking out for you," Xiphos tried to reason, only to be cut off with Muzzin growling again.

"I'm not falling for that," Muzzin retorted. "You're not fooling me. Now, as the Prime Minister of Corneria, I kindly ask you to leave. Get out of my office."

"Muzzin, just let the poor guy talk," Wes growled.

"I've let him talk too much," the red wolf countered. "Get him out of here Jaeger."

"I'm not leaving until you either let me search Fichina or _you_ do it for me," Xiphos said firmly.

"You've got it, bub," Muzzin grinned smugly, licking his chops. "I'll do a hell of a lot better job than you will, that's for damn sure!"

"Thank you," Xiphos forced out, glancing over at Wes. "You mind telling me the results, Wes?"

"Absolutely," Wes grinned back. "Anything for you, my lord."

"You fuckin' serious?" Muzzin snarled with feral intensity, pointing at the door. "Get his royal ass out of here."

Talen growled softly and tightened the hold on the grip of his rifle, only for Xiphos to gently push him out of the doorway.

"We'll wait outside, general," Xiphos said calmly. "Thanks again for the talks, Victor."

Muzzin glared at the two dragons as they both exited the office, and once his door was resealed he turned his irate yellow eyes to the wolf-dog. "The fuck are you doing?"

"My job," Wes growled back. "You need to calm down."

Muzzin contracted his muzzle again and transitioned his gaze to the open windows towards the back of the office, thrusting his paws into the pockets of his dress pants. He stared at the cloudless sky for what felt like several minutes before turning back to the hybrid, visibly calmer and less irritated.

"I've got an idea," he said gently, picking at the longer hairs under his muzzle. "Can you organize an LHC address here at HQ? Call every Senator and LHC diplomat and bring them here, so that I can address this problem at the source?"

"With all due respect, Victor, organizing something of this caliber would take a few weeks at the least," Wes admitted.

"I want to take care of this as soon as possible," Muzzin breathed heavily. "Preferably in the next forty-eight hours. Can this be possible?"

"It will be a stretch, and the Senators would have to drop everything to get here in time, but I think this can work," the hybrid said truthfully. "What are your intentions, if I can ask?"

Muzzin sighed and lowered his head, then after collecting his thoughts after a momentary, yet dramatic pause, he looked back up and grinned with half of his muzzle, licking his lips in the process.

"I want to prove those lizards wrong."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

 _I got a heart full of pain, head full of stress  
handfull of anger, held in my chest  
And everything left's a waste of time  
I hate my rhymes, but hate everyone else's more  
I'm riding on the back of this pressure  
Guessing that it's better I can't keep myself together  
Because all of this stress gave me something to write on  
The pain gave me something I could set my sights on  
Never forget the blood sweat and tears  
The uphill struggle over years the fear and  
Trash talking and the people it was to  
And the people that started it just like you_

 _Tried to give you warning but everyone ignores me  
Told you everything loud and clear  
But nobody's listening  
Called to you so clearly but you don't want to hear me  
Told you everything loud and clear  
But nobody's listening_

 _*Linkin Park – Nobody's Listening*_


	11. Voices Off Camera

**S: A/N: And just like that, another chapter up. Hoo-rah.**

 **I just want to ask you fellas something first. I noticed this a while ago, but it juts now came to my attention. I don't know if it was the rating change or what, but I've noticed there hasn't been much activity with this story, being views and _re_ views. I just wanted to ask if you fellas are still interested, ya know? I mean, if you think there's something that's preventing you from enjoying this story in the way I want you guys to, PLEASE let me know. I don't want you guys to be disinterested just because of something that I could easily fix. **

**In regards to the aforementioned, go ahead and drop a review and tell me what you guys think of not just this chap, but the story as a whole. What do you think's gonna happen next? What do you _want_ to see happen next? Remember, this story can only be as enjoyable as you guys help me make it. If I'm taking it in the wrong direction, yell at me and tell me to fix it before the rest of it falls through.**

 **Sorry if I ranted, but I just don't want to see this story abandoned because of poor feedback and/or disinterest. Again guys, lemme know what you think. I'll be eagerly anticipating your reviews. Take care fellas, and enjoy what I think is my favorite chapter yet.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Voices Off Camera  
**

* * *

Joel couldn't help but smile when he felt the Fichinian cargo ship touch down on solid ground with an audible hiss and resounding thump. As the engines whined to a halt, he stretched his arms out and sat up in his bed, then proceeded to throw his pillow across the room at Erik to get his attention.

"Hey, we made it back," Joel grunted, flipping his legs over his bedside.

Erik angrily tossed the pillow back at Joel, groaning in discomfort because of his wound. "Wow, you decided to crash _here_ for the ride back?" he questioned tauntingly. "Would've thought you'd have tried to sleep with your girlfriend."

"C'mon, lay off," the Lieutenant growled. "I wasn't thinking straight earlier, alright?"

"So you're sure it was just whatever the hell you sniffed over there?" Erik asked.

"Yeah, I'm alright now," Joel said, picking himself up off the cot. "And what about you? You any better?"

"My dick still hurts; does that answer your question?" Erik chuckled, groaning as he sat up. "In all seriousness, I'm feeling better. In fact, Skae actually patched me up while you were out cold over there."

"Did she really?" Joel smiled. Erik nodded and lifted his sandy brown tank-top up, showing a thick layer of white bandaging over where his wound was.

"Yeah, she stitched me up… better than the guys back at base camp," he added with a chuckle. "Don't get me wrong, Sergeant Rahal wasn't the worst doctor in the field, but his stitching jobs could've been a lot cleaner."

"Speaking of 'ol Paulie," Joel butted in. "You think he's still a doc over on Corneria? Like, a human doctor?"

"I don't see why he wouldn't," Erik replied, rubbing some sleep out of his eyes. "If there's still fifty or so of us still there, he'd have his work somewhere."

"True," Joel nodded, grabbing both his and the late Corporal Sparks' duffel and draping both of their straps around his shoulders. Erik understood the implications, letting out a long and quiet growl of pain as he stood up and grabbed his own bag.

They made their way down the long corridors down into the main hangar for them to leave, and luckily did not need to put on any protective clothing just yet as the main Fichinian Colonial Headquarters hangar was indeed heated and insulated to prevent equipment from freezing up. The hangar they were in, despite being a main hub for the planet, only consisted of six separate docking bays and a few lone fighter launchers scattered sporadically around the structure. It was as if they constructed the main hub first to get a shelter from the harsh climate, then set to work on separate facilities.

Joel and Erik loaded their bags into the back of a heavily worn and snow covered pickup truck, then slammed the truck bed door shut, prompting the driver to pull out and drive to their appropriate homes. Joel turned back around to glance over at the frigate they arrived in, only to see Skae trotting up to them, her ears poking out of a ushanka-like hat that almost completely covered her cheeks.

Joel couldn't help but smile and hold out his hand above his head, to which the she-wolf immediately grinned back and slapped his hand with her paw, echoing the smack throughout the hangar.

"We made it back," the female canine remarked happily, twitching her ears.

"Thanks to you," Joel grinned back, giving her a gentle nudge. "You saved our asses out there."

"Hey, don't mention it," Skae cooed. "Just doing my job."

Erik's head cranked up as someone on the other side of the hangar called his name, then after a quick goodbye he scurried off to the origin of the call. As soon as Erik was out of earshot, Joel patted the Fichinian's shoulder and leaned his head in so that she could hear him clearly.

"What do we do now?" Joel asked concernedly. "We've already caused aggressions just showing up here. If we try and do anything else we're gonna get caught."

"We're not," Skae answered in a whisper. "Like Darkon said, we just kick back and watch."

"Okay…" Joel replied unconvincingly, then managed to smirk and give her another nudge. "Kick back at your place?"

"If you're up for it," Skae replied, sticking her tongue out at him and giving him a wink. The Lieutenant pinched himself to keep himself in line as he followed the she-wolf out of the hangar, not before putting on a very insulating and warm coat she gave him to stay warm.

"Thanks for this again," Joel said over the howling of the wind as he slid his orange mirrored goggles over his eyes. "I'd be frozen without it."

"That was my father's hunting jacket," she said, tightening the pale blue scarf around her neck. "He'd be out in the frozen plains for hours on end. That kept him alive… well… kept him alive longer than if he was without it."

The rest of their brief walk out in the arctic-like cold went on in silence, as every word they said either split their lips or started freezing the saliva in their mouths. Skae finally pulled out a thin card and swiped it on a receiver off to the right of her front door, causing a click loud enough for them to hear over the wind. She immediately opened the door to get into the shelter of her rather small home, with Joel right on her six to get out of the cold as soon as possible.

"There a reason why you wanted to get out of the hangar so quickly?" Skae asked, hanging her jacket on the nearby rack along with her insulating hat. Joel shrugged his head and removed his own coat and hung it near where the she-wolf just hung hers.

"Just needed a quiet place to relax for a while," he answered, slowly walking into the open main room that already had a space heater attempting to defrost the interior of the house. "Plus it's a lot warmer in here than the HQ."

"True," she giggled, resting her bare elbows on the kitchen counter as she watched Joel throw himself on the loveseat underneath a large snow-covered window. He let out a breathy sigh as he closed his eyes and sunk into the upholstery, while Skae continued to lean on the counter and rest her muzzle in her paws, uncomfortably staring at the icy window.

"You look down, Skae," Joel suddenly spoke up, startling the she-wolf slightly. "I know this was a rough mission, but it was a success. We're still alive. That's something to celebrate about, right?"

Skae shrugged her head and let a small grin surface. "Well, you do have a point. I actually have a little something I think you might enjoy."

She stepped away from the counter briefly, the sound of cabinet doors closing filling the small room. A few moments later, she came back with a large bottle with an opaque brown liquid filling just over half, along with two small glasses that looks as though they couldn't hold over two ounces of whatever was in the bottle.

"You look like a guy who could use a drink after that mission," she smirked, popping the cork out of the square, squat bottle. "I'm assuming you're old enough to drink?"

"How old do you think I am?" Joel asked, chuckling as he stepped towards the counter.

Skae snorted and shrugged. "Eighteen? Hell, I don't know."

Joel about laughed out loud. "I'm twenty-seven."

Skae about dropped the glass in her paw. "No way you're _that_ old. You're four years older than I am if that's the case."

"I'm afraid I am," the human smirked, filling his own glass with what he presumed to be a native alcoholic drink considering the smell and consistency. "What is this anyway?"

"It's an old Fichinian ale – brewed in an old customary way to give it much more power without sacrificing flavor," she explained, swishing the alcohol in her glass. "Go ahead, try it."

Joel hesitantly took a sip, and was instantly rewarded with a flavor that only his dreams could process. It was much sweeter than regular ale, yet it had that kick of a whiskey aftertaste that sent shivers down the human's spine. He immediately downed the shot in no time flat, getting the she-wolf to giggle.

"I take it you like it," she cooed.

"Love it," Joel corrected. "This is amazing. Thanks for sharing."

"Hey, anything for you, big guy," she smirked, batting at Joel's leg with her tail as she drank her respective glass before giving the both of them a refill.

Joel waited a few moments to completely bask in the heavenly flavor he consumed, then immediately pounded the next glass he was given without hesitation. Once he caught his breath, he glanced over at the wolf who was about to pour him another shot.

"Can I ask you something?" he abruptly asked.

"Yeah, what's up?" she replied, not looking up from the glass.

"Be brutally honest with me," he started, exhaling through his nose. "What do you think of… well… this?"

Skae cocked an eyebrow and set the larger bottle down. "Like, what we're doing?"

"Yeah."

Skae sighed and gestured the human to follow him back into the living room. He swiped the larger bottle before chasing after the wolf, then after he set the bottle down on the nearby table and sat down on the couch underneath the window Skae answered him.

"I'm not sure," she admitted, sipping half of the contents of her glass. "Normally, I'd be happy that Corneria would finally get some well-deserved justice, but…"

"You're not sure if it's the right way?" Joel asked, inadvertently stealing the words right out of the lupine's muzzle.

"Exactly," she nodded. "There could be better alternatives, but we chose this route to stay out of the carnage. And for you, you want to get revenge on the planet, while we just want new people in power."

"Actually," Joel interrupted. "I found a letter from one of my teammates that was killed yesterday, and he was in one of the biggest cities when the Cornerian ships came back to help. It wasn't the soldiers, it was the people behind the soldiers giving them orders… Turns out they were the wrong orders."

"So," she started off slowly. "You just want to take care of the people giving them the wrong orders?"

"If it means that our race and yours can coexist like you said, then yes," the Lieutenant said with a grin. "I think there actually is more to us than just fighting out every single disapproval."

"So do I," she admitted, downing yet another glass of the Fichinian ale. "I mean, we were able to work together in such a way that we saved each other's lives. If that isn't a way of coexisting, I don't know what is."

Joel felt his heart start to quicken pace, but he immediately silenced that and drowned it with another glass. However, once the taste faded from his latest shot, it seemed as though his feeling came back stronger than ever, and there wasn't anything he could do to suppress them other than getting slightly squeamish in his seat, which luckily for him she didn't notice.

"Ya know," she suddenly spoke up, crossing her leg so that she could comfortably face the human. "I know I already said this before, but you've proven me wrong about the stereotypical humans – being all savage, uncaring, and brutal creatures. I've yet to see one of those things come out of you."

Joel would have blushed if he wasn't so cold. "Oh, well, thanks," he said hesitantly. "You're pretty cool yourself."

"Was that a compliment?" Skae asked with a smirk. Joel started stuttering, and not as a result of the alcohol.

"Well, I, uh… I guess, yeah," he said, trying to withhold a smile. Skae giggled back and nudged him with her foot.

"I'm just teasing ya," she grinned. "So, we've got a while to ourselves. You just want to talk?"

Joel swallowed hard. "What do you mean, just talk?"

Skae shrugged. "I want to know a little more about you guys, since all we know is how well you can kick Corneria's tails. I just want to know more. That alright with you?"

Joel smirked, took another quick sip out of his glass, and then turned to face the she-wolf just like she did moments ago. "Only if you're up for hearing me rant, and as long as we don't get _too_ drunk."

Skae giggled and poured herself another shot.

"No promises."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

 _THUMP_

Krystal's eyes fluttered open as yet another resounding pound against the Renown's walls reverberated down to her designated quarters. It was the third time in less than a half-hour that the same noise had woken her up from a much needed slumber, and it was starting to get on her nerves. She tossed the heavy comforter off of her frame, but immediately regretted the decision as the cold from the outside immediately permeated her fur. She pulled the comforter back over her thin frame and let that warmth wash back over her.

 _THUMP_

"What is that?" Quina's soft-spoken voice broke the still silence in the room as she sat up in her bed.

"I don't know but it's driving me nuts," Krystal groaned.

"I'll go see what it is," she replied, picking herself out of her bed and immediately grabbing the oversized jacket draped over her headboard, courtesy of Jona. The sleeves were about four inches longer than her arms, and the jacket looked like a dress on her, but she honestly didn't care. In fact, it was extremely comfortable and warm, but it wasn't enough to completely conceal her frame. She reached into Jona's closet and pulled out a pair of sweatpants which were also about four of five sizes too big, and after pulling those over her legs and tying up her pale blue hair into a ponytail which she draped over the front of her left shoulder, she stepped out of the small, dimly lit quarters and out into the bright hallway.

She traced another couple of thumps down the hallway to what she would eventually find out to be the Renown's on-board training facility towards the center of the ship. Completely mystified, she followed the resounding reverberations down to the source without hesitation, but peered inside the room timidly and curiously as she didn't know if that section of the ship was off-limits to her.

There she saw Jona in a fighting stance, staring down a thick and heavy punching bag hanging from the ceiling. Obviously the dragon frequently used that method of training, as she couldn't look at two inches of the surface without seeing stitching or patchwork, signifying extreme usage and unrelenting fury unleashed on it. There was also one fresh gash about two inches wide where some of the sand was pouring out onto the floor.

Jona himself was actually in his nightclothes, consisting of a dark gray tank-top stained with his sweat, and some jet black athletic shorts. His bare feet danced around the sand covered flooring as he sized up his inanimate opponent, his eyebrows curled downward angrily but his expression was that of stoic earnestness.

Quina watched as the gray dragon launched one heavy punch after another, each one letting out a resounding boom – the same sound Krystal was complaining about. Every contact with the bag would cause Jona to grunt and let air out of his nostrils, but he just kept on assaulting the bag like it was an actual opponent.

The Cerinian raised two of her clawed digits to her temple and focused in on the training Verian, trying to see if she could peer into his mind just to see where his noticeable anger was coming from. She knew he was upset, she could detect the aura of anger coursing through his veins, but the way that he was venting his anger in his training was a very admirable quality to her. Warriors in her village would take out their anger on the females, as she knew that fact all too well. The fact that Jona wasn't taking his anger out on another person put a small grin on her face.

Jona started getting more intense, as his punches and occasional kickboxer-like kicks were starting to get heavier and more dangerous. He started out with a few regular attack combinations at first, but now his anger was showing up to the point where he was unloading punch after kick after brutal and savage punch, causing a few new gashes to appear and coat the floor in even more sand.

With a loud growl, Jona launched a massive right hook, ripping the bag clean off of its chains and careening it to the floor, another much louder thud resounding from the ravaged punching bag impacting the steel floors. The sound of sand pouring out of the torn surface muffled Jona's heavy breathing, but by the time the grainy particles stopped cascading out of his equipment, his heavy breaths became more defined.

Quina just stood in the doorway with visible awe at Jona's brute strength, staring at the Verian that was standing in a pool of sand with his bare feet as he let his adrenaline simmer down to comfortable levels. Her awe quickly transitioned to concern when Jona crossed his legs in and sat on the ground with his tail curled around his frame, crying softly and almost silently. Quina realized his distress and immediately took a few hesitant steps into the room.

"Jona?" she called out softly, causing the Verian's pointed ears to shoot straight up. He cranked his head around to face her immediately afterward, then let a small smile surface as she stepped closer.

"Oh, hey Quina," he said absentmindedly, pointing his snout back down to the sand covered floor.

"What are you doing down here?" she asked, crouching down to his level by crossing her legs. Jona chuckled at the oversized clothing she was wearing, but couldn't deny that she looked particularly beautiful with her bound up hair and her naturally intoxicating looks.

"I could ask the same thing to you," Jona said breathily, tuning to face the beautiful vixen yet again. One quick glance showed that her downy white ventral fur was peeking out of the jacket she was swimming in, which he had to admit looked adorable.

"Krys and I could hear you training from our room," she explained in such a silky voice that Jona's heart started fluttering. "Is there a reason why you're training so late?"

Jona exhaled yet again and started unwinding the white gauze around his hands. "Sorry, I… I just couldn't sleep. I kept having nightmares of Cerinia… It's… just too much for me to handle."

Quina cold detect faint signals and patters of anger and sadness stemming from the Verian next to her, so in an attempt to calm him down she channeled some of her telepathic powers down to her paws and started gently rubbing at Jona's neck and back, soothing the muscles and inadvertently soothing his mind as well.

"Talk to me," she stated softly.

"What?" he replied curiously, cocking an eyebrow.

"Tell me what's on your mind," she continued. "I can't tell what's troubling you unless you tell me yourself."

"I already know what's troubling me," Jona grunted. "I keep getting the feeling that something terrible is going to happen, especially now."

Quina just continued to rub at his neck, trying to get information out of him that way.

"With you guys' safety, Corneria's antics, Darkon's antics, and… just this in general… I'm stressed out."

"It does sound like a lot to handle," the Cerinian remarked. "I don't know how you guys do it."

"And I don't _know_ how to deal with everything," Jona added. "That's why I'm so worried. I'm afraid that if I do one thing, something else will happen from it, and that will jeopardize everything else. I just… I don't know what to do…"

Quina breathed out of her nose and scooted closer to him. "I've felt that way too Jona," she explained. "Just, not as bad as you might think taking into consideration what you're fighting with, but… I think you may want to hear me out on this."

She shifted her legs so that she was sitting on her feet as she looked directly at the dragon. "Six years ago, when I was Krystal's age, and when we had direct affiliation with the CDF for some time, we sent soldier to fight against the humans. My father was one of the main Commanders of the Destroyer teams that were sent to attack cities on the planet, so he and fifty of our best warriors took to the call and attempted to fight alongside Corneria, creating an entire team of over five hundred soldiers – over three fourths of the crew being Cerinians from different villages. My father didn't know about what really happened, so he was just blindly following Corneria's mindless actions."

She took a forced breath and let her ears tilt back. "His ship was the second Cornerian cruiser to be destroyed, and the first one because of direct contact with the humans. He and his entire crew were killed, aside from one small platoon that crash landed before they even got back. When word got back to us about this catastrophic loss for our village, we all knew what would happen next."

"The repopulation process," Jona finished for her.

"Exactly," Quina nodded. "And I was of age, therefore forced to take part in these drastic times. I'll spare you the details, but the male I was paired up with was a cruel, heartless person that almost killed me because I did not do his will. Even when I was the daughter of the best Commander Cerinia has ever had, it didn't matter. I was an object in those times. He hurt me, beat me, and again, nearly killed me. Even after the designated time was over, I was forced to become his property, and was beaten and raped repeatedly because that's what the repopulation period was – a time of desperation."

She grimaced and clutched at her abdomen. "About a year after that I had my first kits. Twins. Healthy boy and girl. They were beautiful. I loved them dearly because they were my kits. I birthed them, raised them, cared for them… I was their mother… and then…"

Jona noticed tears forming in her sky blue eyes. "When they no longer relied on me to stay alive, they ripped them out of my arms and gave them to families that couldn't raise their own. They separated them. Separated them from each other, and from me."

The tears started flowing down her cheeks. "It hurt so much. They were my kits, Jona… …You don't know how much it hurts to have your kits ripped out of your arms after you sacrificed so much for them. It… I…"

Quina eventually broke down, abandoning all restraint as she lunged forward and planted her muzzle onto his shoulder. Jona was caught off guard and actually fell backwards, inadvertently taking Quina with him as they both fell back onto the sandy training floors. Jona recovered rather quickly from the sudden attack, but instead of picking the both of them off the floor, he just wrapped his arms around her and gave her that much needed physical reassurance.

"I'm sorry," Jona said softly, gently patting her back. "You don't deserve to be put through that."

Quina picked her face out of his neck and let out a small grin. One thing Jona noticed about her was that her sky blue fur was starting to turn purple around her cheeks, so obviously she was embarrassed that she had accidentally taken him down. The vixen readjusted herself so that she was straddling Jona's stomach, and not once did the Verian complain.

"Thanks Jona," she said lightheartedly, drying a few salty tears out of her eyes. "Thanks for being someone I could talk to."

"I wouldn't turn you away," Jona grinned back. "I love having someone to talk to. Usually I don't have that luxury."

"But… you're royalty," Quina remarked. "Wouldn't you have a lot of friends?"

"Not as many as you would think," Jona explained, letting his eyes close. "Aside from you and Krys, I only have two true friends outside of my family. That's why I was so worried about you two. If you or Krys were killed… I don't know what I would do…"

Jona sniffed and looked at her dead in the eyes.

"You two aren't just my charges," he started, talking with such a demeanor that Quina couldn't help but stare back at him. "You're family. _My_ family."

As soon as he said that, Jona's enigmatic mind that was a complete mystery to the vixen slightly opened up to the point where she could decipher his immediate thoughts. Taking that as an initiative, she hesitantly picked herself up off the Verian, and after helping Jona back up to his feet she smiled.

"And I know what you always say about your family, especially us," Quina started, catching the Verian's thoughts and processing that into her next actions. Before Jona had any time to reply or even react to what she said, she drew closer and wrapped her arms around his neck, being that he was about a head and a half taller than she was she really had to stretch to get to him. Quina noticed his nervousness immediately, along with the rosy pigment in his cheeks, so without another word she inched her pointed muzzle ever so closer to him.

As soon as Quina's lips pressed against his snout, it was like a bomb went off in her head. No longer did she only have Jona's immediate thoughts in her mind, she now had complete access to his head. The seemingly unbreakable barrier protecting his mind from her metaphorically shattered, giving the vixen total control over his mind. Everything from his thoughts to his memories. They were all available.

Jona, surprisingly with no hesitation, wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed her up against his frame, deepening the kiss in the process. They stayed in this intimate position for as long as they could without suffocating each other, and once Jona peeled away he showcased his first genuine and compassionate smile in hours, even days.

"I love my family," Jona finished for her, keeping his gentle hold on her waist. "Especially you."

Quina blushed noticeably and bit her lower lip. "And how long have you been withholding that from me?"

The dragon instantly widened his eyes. He knew what she was referencing, and even worse was that he couldn't lie. He had completely lowered his defense to her by sharing their first genuine intimate moment, and now he had to tell the truth to her.

"Far too long," Jona admitted, grinning slightly. "I… would have said something sooner but I didn't want that affecting my work."

"And I didn't say anything earlier either because I thought the same thing to you," Quina added herself. "I didn't want anything between us to interfere with what you love to do."

"Well," Jona started, a smug grin creasing his snout. "What about now?"

Quina broke eye contact and looked down at the floor. "I… I don't know. I've never had a true relationship before, because the one I thought I was in years ago turned out to be hell for me."

"I understand," Jona said in reassurance. "Truth be told, I've never had a true relationship before either. I've tried to find someone, and they always fall through. The one that I thought was the one for me turned out to be an assassin and almost killed me in my sleep after… well… I'll spare you the details, but it was a terrifying ordeal."

Jona pointed to a scar on his neck just below his jawline. "I trusted her with my life, and she almost took it. I've had trust issues ever since. It takes quite a lot to gain my trust after that incident, believe me."

Jona took her paws in his hands and grinned yet again. "You're one of those select few that have not only earned my trust, but have earned my love as well. I don't have much to offer you, but… I can guarantee that you will be safe in my care. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

Quina was speechless. She could only let out a high pitched squeak and nod her head as if saying yes to his proposition, then again locked her lips against his in a much more passionate kiss than before. During that time, Jona realized that his true internal feelings that first showed up after Krystal had kissed him weeks ago had once again shown itself towards the vixen in his arms. Only, the difference this time was that he didn't have to deny these feeling this time. Krystal's may have been unintentional, but one thing he knew for sure that Quina's was not.

As she pulled away, she let a few tears of joy traverse down her cheeks and showcased a warm and loving smile. "Thank you Jona," she said breathily. "Thank you for everything."

"Anything for you my princess," Jona smiled warmly. "Anyway, sand and sweat don't exactly mix all that well, so I'm going to take a shower." He reached out and gently grabbed the vixen's available paw and stoked the back of it with his thumb. "You seem to have gotten some in your fur, so you're welcome to join me if you wish."

Quina smirked and bit her lower lip, letting her tail flick uncontrollably as a seductive purr left her throat.

"Of course, my prince."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Although the one thing Wolf hated the most about his RVAF instructing position was wearing a uniform, it was a requirement despite the usual attire not being cooperative with his frame. Just sitting alone in Commandant Talen's office for five minutes exponentiated his displeasure towards the uniforms. He was almost at a point where he was about to tear the stitching in some places before the door to his left opened up, revealing the copper Commandant himself.

"Thanks for coming here on such a short notice, Wolf," Talen forced a grin, shaking Wolf's burly paw.

"Not a problem," Wolf replied confidently, tracing the dragon's movement to his rather minimalistic desk. "Would it be an issue if I asked why?"

"Just a few minor details about this operation," Talen explained, crossing his left leg underneath his right as he sat down in his office chair. "These will be very important, so I suggest you take note."

Wolf grunted in approval as he stepped around the desk to look at the holographic image Talen was staring at more clearly. The Commandant pulled up a map of the area in and around Papetoon's main HQ and started poking at a few sections.

"Okay, so for the trip there you don't have to worry about anything except getting some rest," he said calmly. "The trip there will take a few hours at most with the warpdrive fully functional. You'll land at the HQ, and we've already made arrangements for your accommodations for the night."

"A nice place to rest my head," Wolf remarked under his breath.

"Providing no outside interferences, it's as straightforward as it can get," Talen continued, oblivious to the lupine's add-on. "Papetoon's allied forces have pinpointed Darkon's base of operations in a small village about fifty miles southwest of the main HQ. They would take care of him there, but they won't be as equipped to handle such a dangerous terrorist as you will."

"So you're implying I'm getting some new gear for this?" Wolf said with a smug smile.

"Exactly," Talen responded. "Darkon and his regime are extremely dangerous, and if you used normal means of protection and weaponry you'd be killed instantly. Jona and I have already arranged a meeting with our finest engineer for a… fitting, so to say."

"A fitting?" Wolf echoed curiously.

"On the way back from Corneria, Xiphos and I thought it would be best for you to have your own set of Guardian armor – our most durable and reliable set of armor. However, obviously since your body structure differs so much from ours, we need to create a set from scratch that fits you."

"Hmm," Wolf scratched the longer hairs on the underside of his muzzle. "I like the sound of that."

"I thought you might," Talen chuckled. "Weapons are also another thing. Unfortunately, the technology Darkon intercepted includes the ability to completely negate the effectiveness of not only Cornerian energy rounds, but most of the VGC's rounds as well. The only thing we can provide you that we know for sure will work is this."

Talen produced a rather large silver case from underneath his desk, then unfastened the two locks on either side. He flipped the one side up, revealing a long and rather blocky assault rifle – the construction of the rifle in question giving Wolf an immediate sense of déjà vu.

"This is a standard issue ACR – the kind of rifle the Terrans use," Talen explained. "We managed to find out that the frequency of the shield systems he stole don't have the capability to phase out kinetic weaponry."

"Where did you get this?" Wolf asked abruptly, immediately peeling the rifle out of its case.

"This was a gift," the Commandant replied. "General Yeager gifted this to us for doing him a huge personal favor."

Wolf's eyes widened. "Wes! I _knew_ this looked familiar!"

"What?"

The gray lupine sighed and examined the gun from the stock to the barrel. "This is the same gun a close human friend of mine had. The _exact_ same one."

Talen himself showed signs of shock as well. "The one that James McCloud killed?"

Wolf cringed and set the rifle back down into the case. "Yes," he said quietly, folding his ears back.

Talen resealed the case and pushed it towards the lupine. "Keep it. Obviously this means more to you than it does to us. Consider it a reward for helping us."

"Thank you," Wolf responded, leaning the case up against his desk. "It's always nice to have another thing to remember him by. He actually gave me Sheila's engagement ring."

"Oh, speaking of Sheila," Talen abruptly blurted out. "In light of the escalating tensions between Corneria and us, you and Sheila's training squadrons are authorized for proper engagement."

"As in, we're actually RVAF squadrons?"

"Yep," Talen grinned. "However, you must start at the bottom of the chain, as does everyone else. We aren't allowed to just hand people positions. You know that first hand, don't you?"

"I still have a bruise on my ass," Wolf chuckled, causing the copper Commandant to bust up laughing. Once the lighthearted moment died down, Talen glanced at his screen momentarily, then back at Wolf, concern gripping his expression.

"You should go home Wolf," he blurted out. "Just got a message saying Sheila was sent home. You should go see what's up."

"Oh," Wolf's ears perked right up. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know. Usually we don't send people home unless something happened."

"Thank you Talen," Wolf said quickly, grabbing his ACR case and immediately heading for the door. The Commandant barely had the chance to say goodbye before Wolf was already halfway down the hall.

Even with carrying the heavy case, Wolf made it back to his minute portion of the Manor in record time. Luckily the royal wing wasn't too far away from the wing where VIPs were housed, and both Wolf and Sheila fell under that category of a Verian VIP.

Wolf swiped his card against the receiver to his apartment, immediately unlocking to door for him to enter. As soon as he burst through the door, he saw her sitting at the rounded kitchen table off to the left of the apartment where the kitchen fixtures were located. Her elbows were resting on the table comfortably with her muzzle perched in her paws, staring down at a small stack of papers strewn about the table. Wolf shut the door with his foot, leaned the case up against the wall, then took step after hesitant step towards the seemingly oblivious husky.

"Sheila?" Wolf called out softly, and in usual circumstances that's all he would have to say to get her undivided attention, but instead she just stared blankly at the pages coating the table.

Wolf walked up to the table and picked up the first sheet he saw. Judging by the layout and information of the page, it was a personal copy of a Verian combat physical, and the result of the physical made Wolf lose all of the oxygen in his lungs.

"What?" he said in disbelief. "How did you fail the physical? You were just fine a few weeks ago."

Sheila's closed eyes started leaking, tracing wet lines down her cheeks.

"Sheila, what's wrong?"

The copper husky revealed her beautiful deep blue eyes to the lupine and smiled.

"Wolf," she started, whispering so quietly that Wolf had to strain to hear her. "This… this is wonderful…"

"What are you talking about?" Wolf questioned, starting to get angry. "This is terrible! You know you can't be deployed if you fail this!"

"Calm down Wolf," Sheila said calmly, pulling him into the seat adjacent to hers at the table. "It's not as bad as it looks."

"Explain to me how this isn't that bad," Wolf snapped, tossing the papers onto the table.

Sheila scooted her chain in closer and grabbed Wolf's wrists, gently pulling him ever so closer. "We're going to be parents, Wolf. They found out earlier today that… …I'm pregnant."

Wolf's jaw hit the hardwood floor so suddenly and so abruptly that his first thought was he actually broke his jaw. Sheila giggled at his priceless expression and wished that she had a camera to capture this precious moment of Wolf's first realization that he was going to be a father.

"Now do you see why I'm so overjoyed?" Sheila asked, giddy with happiness and excitement. "Finally! Finally we're finally going to be parents!"

Wolf could only let out a long, breathy chuckle as his awestruck expression transitioned to complete elation. He tried to speak up, but instead just stared at his now expecting wife with his violet eyes, conveying his internal message of absolute joy to her. He gently pulled her up to her feet, then immediately locked her into a deep and passionate kiss just like they have always done before.

Wolf was the first one to pull away, but didn't release his hold he had on the husky's face. He instead pulled her in and pressed the tip of his nose against hers, making the husky purr with happiness.

"This is amazing," Wolf whispered in a state of pure elation. "I… I don't know what else to say, other than… …I love you so much."

"I love you too," Sheila smiled widely, pointing her muzzle down so that she could press her cinnamon brown furred forehead against the lupine's. Wolf relished in her warmth for what felt like ages until he pulled away again, showing off another thankful and genuinely happy smile.

Sheila couldn't bring herself to speak again. Just staring at her mate made her eyes fill with tears of joy, and right as they filled up her eyelids and dumped out onto her cheeks she lunged forward and buried herself into her man's gentle, loving grasp.

Although he was completely overjoyed upon hearing the news that he would have his own kit, his emotions on the inside were running haywire. On one hand, he was extremely eager to settle down and finally start his family, but on the other he was extremely worried and afraid. If Talen was right about his mission, it would be the most difficult job he'd have to tackle, and worrying about his unborn child's well-being would cause even more problems. He didn't want his kit growing up without him.

But, on another hand, that gave him all the more determination to complete his mission to give his kit a safe place to grow up and live a normal life. He had to do it for his family.

As for right now, all he wanted to do was spend the rest of his day with his mate…

Enjoying the calm before the storm…

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

"Now I know why Katina needed these air purifiers," Vince muttered under his breath, rolling his dual suitcases up against the far side wall of his rented apartment. Much like the Papetoonian apartments, Vince's Katinian apartment he was designated for his temporary residence consisted of a singular room divided by thin walls to give the allusion of separate rooms. The apartment consisted of a bedroom, small living room, bathroom, and kitchen; the usual fixtures in each. He didn't need anything extravagant – he would be in the lab for most of the day anyway. However, he is scheduled to appear for his first day of technological development tomorrow, as they were not expecting such a smooth flight from Corneria to Katina. Not only that, but the customs officers that were stationed there immediately let Vince through without so much as an identity check. What was presumed to be a three hour long adventure through customs and to his apartment only turned out to take up the better part of half an hour.

Exhausted from his restless flight and uncertain future, Vince removed his overcoat and slung it over the armrest of the small armchair pressed against the wall with included the front door, then crossed his left leg underneath his right as he sunk into the upholstery of the larger loveseat against the left wall. He managed to unpack his belongings somewhat before deciding it was time to crash, so his portable computer system was comfortably resting on the coffee table, as well as a few other gadgets that aided in bringing home with him. He also bumped up the air conditioning quite a bit, so much so that the air bursting out of the machine was rustling the exposed fur outside of Vince's tank-top and shorts.

He let the cool air permeate the fur on his arms, legs, tail, and chest as he reached forward and powered the TV hanging on the dividing wall on, and after a brief warm-up time the screen started displaying the local Katinian news, starting with a supposed robbery on the other side of the main city Vince was staying in.

It was still over four hours before sundown, but Vince still hadn't had his supper yet. Right before standing up to trudge into the kitchen, he flipped open the screen of his laptop computer and powered it on, so that when he came back to the couch with his food he would be welcomed by his desktop screen. Not wanting to bother with an extravagant meal, he decided to throw whatever was in his freezer that the Katinian government provided him into the microwave to get a quick bite. Luckily, they were nice enough to leave quite a selection for the arctic fox, but in his mental state he just grabbed the first item he saw, which happened to be a knock-off artisan pasta meal and stuffed it into the microwave, unfocusedly following the instructions on the box. While the hum of the machine filled his ears, he clicked his digits on the hardwood floor as he walked over to rest his elbows on the kitchen counter, getting a perfect view of the TV across the room.

Vince sighed and shook his head, pushing his glasses father up on his face. "What am I doing here?" he murmured to himself. "I shouldn't be here. War is about to break out and I'm sitting on the other side of the galaxy, doing absolutely nothing at all."

The microwave beeped obnoxiously, and Vince was right there to rip the hatch open to silence the screech. He handled his hot meal with care as he swiped a fork and slipped back onto the loveseat in the living room. He tentatively took a quick bite, and immediately set the tray down as the burning heat threatened to scald the arctic fox's throat. He fought through the pain and swallowed with an agonized sigh, then let his head fall back into the cushions.

His momentary rest was stopped short as he reached forward and picked up his computer, then after readjusting his legs again he started glazing over his files. Surely there was something in his extensive hard drive that included something about air purification systems. He didn't want to do weeks, possibly months of research into something that he didn't want to spend more than a few days on. He didn't want to be away from Fox longer than he needed to.

As Vince was scrolling through his folders, he stopped in his tracks at a file name that put a sour taste in his muzzle.

"The First Contact," he whispered silently, the terrible memories returning and playing back in his mind. He couldn't avoid the inner desire to tap on the folder, causing a mass explosion of images and files to clutter his screen. Each image he saw only increased his down and depressed mood, but for reasons unexplained he couldn't stop gazing at the pictures. The devastation, the authorization messages…

The satellite.

Vince expanded on the first human satellite, the one that almost completely leveled Corneria City. The instruments were encased in a material that was highly resistant to drag, force, and heat, leaving them completely operational, but the thrusters and ACS modules were completely vaporized due to the intense blazing heat.

Vince shook his head. All that trouble could have been avoided if the human's wouldn't have gone with combustible fossil-based fuel sources. It was like they were intentionally using that just in case something did go wrong–

He immediately stopped himself. He wasn't going back into that mentality. Not again.

"Now that I think about it…" Vince silently mumbled to himself, zooming in on the remaining structure. "This alloy would be perfect for the purifiers. Strong, highly resistant so that they can run full blast without melting the casing… plus, a satellite cooling system could support these purifiers' overdriven machinery perfectly..."

The arctic fox smiled to himself and started taking notes on another screen, but when he transitioned his gaze back to the satellite he managed to catch something so small and miniscule that he never saw it before. He removed his glasses to look at the image again just to make sure he wasn't seeing things, and just like that the spot he saw vanished. He wiped the lenses clean with his shirt and pushed them back in front of his eyes, causing his curiosity to pique when the damn near microscopic speck returned.

It wasn't his glasses – they had just been replaced a month ago. It was something on screen. Something so small and so unnoticeable that Vince never recognized it until his vision was perfected with the eyeglasses. He hummed and grunted respectively as he leaned forward and examined this newly found detail with upmost concentration.

His curiosity finally got the best of him as he stood up and placed the laptop on the desk, then poked an option on his transmitter that caused the image to pop up as a holographic image. He used his paws to zoom and enhance the image of the satellite, continuously staring at that measly spot.

On one of the largest plates that would've housed the fueling systems had the satellite stayed intact was a deep pockmark, almost as if something small punctured it. He transferred the surface of this plate to a topography-like scanner that read the entire surface of the plate due to the image starting to become pixelated and indistinguishable. The scan showed that the pockmark also included a forth of a centimeter wide hole, punching through the seemingly impenetrable armor-like metal alloy and into the fueling systems, ultimately causing its failure.

The hole was intriguing, as a temperature scan showed that shortly after the satellite detonated on the surface, that pockmark had the highest temperature reading throughout the satellite, far surpassing the temperatures even the inferno that had engulfed the satellite moments after its demise managed to climb to. Vince knew that rocks and stray space debris could not create a pockmark like that, let alone create temperatures that far exceeded the melting point of the sturdiest and most durable alloys in the universe, including this particular instance. Something was wrong here.

"You put on one pair of glasses and suddenly the entire universe opens up," Vince mumbled humorously, smirking at the image that he could completely see now with the glasses. He continued making all sorts of connections, and even though it was his day off, he couldn't help but throw his soul into his research.

Almost an hour later, now that his meal was way past lukewarm, he finally made that last connection that made his heart stop.

The pockmark was not created by a simple rock, just like he first hypothesized. It was a perfectly rounded, singed hole, no greater than the head of a pin wide.

A laser created hole.

The indentation and scorch markings, not including the singing of the burning petrol or the scarring of atmospheric reentry, pointed to one particular laser heat and energy reading, and after a brief search on a military-grade laser weaponry database including weaponry from the Lylat system and other surrounding systems – Earth and Veris both included – his answer was plain as day.

 _1064 Integrated Energy Rounds._

The rounds specifically made for weapons used by House Darkon during their last uprising.

Exactly six years ago.

"No…" Vince gapped, feeling his heart quicken pace. "No, this… this can't be right. This has to be a coincidence. This… no…"

Grabbing his laptop back up, he quickly sped to the kitchen countertop along with a few of his other devices he knew how to use all too well, and it wasn't long before he had an optimal setup.

"If this is right," he mumbled to himself, slurred because of chewing on his paw yet again. "The Verians would have something about this on record…"

Hacking was one of his specialties. Knowing how to infiltrate a secure network became quite an important resource years ago, especially ever since technology flourished in the world of military strategies. He still remembers penetrating secure firewalls and extremely tight defense systems almost effortlessly, and that knowledge still has not left him. It wasn't long at all before he was seamlessly into a secure Verian database, hoping he didn't get discovered or he accidently tipped a warning system.

He managed to slip into a Salfar research database, one of the most extensive and inclusive databases known on Veris Alpha with thousands of terabytes of information and research. He wasted about ten minutes of valuable incognito time sifting through the extensive knowledge the dragons have complied into one singular server, until he located a sub-group solely dedicated to the First Contact – easily exceeding ten terabytes of information by itself. In order to press further, he needed to infiltrate what he first recognized to be a Verian Inferno – the most secure and damn near impenetrable firewall invented by Salfar engineers and coders.

Luckily, Vince was the only Cornerian to possess the knowledge to break that wall.

The first thing he located after breaking the Inferno was a few audio logs by an anonymous user, written in Verian. What puzzled the arctic fox was that his translator could not translate the text on the screen. Unable to solve the indistinguishable language, he just tapped the first file on record, and was surprised to find out that it was already translated for him thanks to his computer's CPU.

 _"One of Corneria's observation satellites on a deep space mission of peaceful discovery was shot down over Terra by one of its continental governments,"_ the feminine voice relayed. _"Evidently the planet was still fractured and had yet to fully unify, that was until they launched their own deep space mission – sending a communications satellite of their own. It was an interesting structure – a muddle of Terran and Cornerian technology along with highly volatile fossil based fuels – it would have been interesting to see how it fared in Lylatian space. Research shows that it was sent back to Corneria to establish formal contact… …Unfortunately, it had the misfortune of having to cross our orbit to reach its destination."_

Vince's jaw dropped yet again as the voice continued.

 _"As our world, Veris Alpha, was engaged in another civil conflict approximately at the same time the Terran hybrid satellite established Lylatian orbit, another bloody power struggle consumed a quarter of the planet. The armies of the four allied Noble houses engaged in battle with the its blood thirsty and unruly fifth, House Darkon. By sheer and unfortunate circumstances, the Terran satellite crossed paths with the Maelstrom – Aeon Darkon's personal command ship, commonly noted for the battle between his fleet and the 17th Defense Fleet. Darkon, being the power-hungry and sadistic mind he is, saw an opportunity… an opportunity to establish his base of power elsewhere. He was not welcome on Veris after his ruthless and unpredicted attack on the VGC that caused way too many casualties, but he saw the satellite's unmistakable marking and was familiar with the knowledge gathered on the races – both Terran and Cornerian – being their advancements, their triumphs, their weaknesses, and their bloody histories. This is where his sadistic mindset comes into play, because no sane mind would ever order for the destruction of a harmless satellite… a Terran one no less._

 _"We didn't think anything of it and continued our pursuit of Darkon's regime, until we heard that over half of Corneria City was annihilated by the crippled satellite's impact. The trajectory was too perfect… too precise… too coincidental… …It struck the heart of downtown, indicating that either Aeon's technicians remotely hacked the satellite's guidance system before they put an IE round though the fuel storage compartment, or after the fueling system was compromised by the IE round, the crew fired the Malestorm's modified concussion blast to forcefully alter the once peaceful communications satellite's course into an improvised interstellar ballistic missile."_

"What… the… shit…" was all Vince could choke out.

 _"And Aeon's meddling prevented us from sending word to the Cornerians that Earth wasn't at fault,"_ the voice continued. _"Though, even if we did, Corneria would have just embarrassed themselves if they faced Darkon's ships. There's no doubt that Corneria would seek vengeance for the catastrophic loss of life, but the fighting would have been as deadly and one sided as it would be if they fought us directly. Darkon's forces destroyed several of our planet's communications relays in order to silence us, and prevented us from spreading the truth of the matter to others. However, by the time Darkon's uprising was put back down, Darkon himself vanished for a lengthy interval of time, and communications between our world to theirs was restored… it was already too late._

 _"Corneria's fury, anger, and rage was unleashed on the Terrans. For weeks they ravaged the singular continent that sent the unmanned satellite – for a crime that was not their own – for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Cornerians attacked the major cities of the continent and burned them to the ground, and we even intercepted communications from General Pepper, who was the head of the CDF at the time, and Prime Minister Victor Muzzin saying that once the northern continent was taken care of, they would expand outward and conquer the entire Terran planet. However, their genocidal campaign was not without a cost._

 _"In the wake of the wave of hatred that Victor Muzzin and the late mercenary Captain James McCloud led, they failed to organize proper supply lines to their military forces, therefore rerouting vital supply lines from the border worlds such as Fichina, Zoness, and Papetoon to properly supply the retaliation efforts. It was so bad that even some of their central planets suffered. They spread their forces so thin that, in comparison, if Venom chose to attack, they would have dominated and conquered at least three colonial nations before the CDF forces caught wind of it."_

Vince swallowed hard. He knew that memory all too well.

 _"King Xiphos Halrand ordered supplies to be delivered to the border worlds, along with a few ships to ensure the security that Muzzin had stripped from them to feed his war machine. Xiphos wouldn't let them starve. Fichina had it worse – we could only send one transport a month because of the planet directly crossing a CDF supply route to the front lines._

 _"Nevertheless, the Cornerians weren't expecting the Terrans to be able to fight back… with atomic weapons no less. The Terran forces managed to destroy a few of their ships, and their aerial defense forces managed to find weak spots in their fighter and bomber craft. The Terrans expertly exploited their enemy's weaknesses to draw the battle to a bloody stalemate._

 _"Cornerians slaughtered Terrans for being simply being that, until a handful started seeing the truth and started to rebel. They managed to halt some of the carnage and got their comrades to see, and even got some to try and aid the people they were trying to kill just moments before. In the meantime, one last strike by the Terran forces turned out to be a crippling blow to the CDF assault forces, destroying three of their most heavily fortified cruisers and killing the legendary mercenary James McCloud. Afterwards, they fled the planet without another word, for fear that thing could escalate and not go in Corneria's favor."_

Vince shook his head in disbelief.

 _"This is Queen Izalia Salfar signing off. The purpose of this recording was to educate the general public of the history of the current Verian reign with due respect to all involved, and to accurately detail events as they unfold. We wish all the best for the parties involved, and will vow to make sure that peace predominates the interaction between these two powers… …End recording."_

A painfully long silence overtook the room as Vince was left in complete and utter shock. Surprisingly, the first thing that popped into his head was not what he would have first anticipated in his circumstances.

Wes. He needed to know more than anyone.

The arctic vulpine quickly pulled up his transmitter interface, only for a blocky red "ACCESS DENIED" message to replace the usual pale blue home screen. His worry and anxiety instantly exponentiated.

"Shit," he muttered to himself, quickly packing up his equipment and stuffing it into a particularly sneaky hiding place inside the dividing wall, but not before grabbing something out of his suitcase and slipping it into his pocket for easy access.

All he could do was sit and wait now.

They would be here any second.

* * *

 **\/###########\/**

* * *

 _Can you hear the desperate cries  
That are calling out your name  
Twisting your arm  
Holding out their hands  
And tugging at your sleeve?  
Do you feel this underlying sense of urgency  
Or are you as blind as me?_

 _I hit the ground and I'm still running but I need a place to stay tonight  
I swear I'll be gone in the morning I just need somewhere now_

 _I can't bear the thought of losing  
I dread the attention winning brings  
And ever since the day I came here  
I can stand without your stings  
I'm so sick of all these people  
But I'm scared to be alone  
And if this life has taught me anything  
I forgot it long ago_

 _And so I hit the ground and I'm still running but I need a place to stay tonight  
I swear I'll be gone in the morning I just need somewhere warm to close my eyes  
Hit the ground and I'm still running but I need a place to stay tonight  
I swear I'll be gone in the morning I just need somewhere warm to close my eyes_

 _*Rise Against – Voices off Camera*_


	12. A Call to Arms

**S: A/N: Woah, I got carried away with this one. I apologize for the absolutely _sprawling_ length of this chapter.**

 **Anyway, if you guys haven't been keeping up with the contest, currently it's in the middle of its voting stage. Anyone can vote, so go ahead and shoot me your favorites. The stories you can choose from are on the "Studio Productions" update, as well as the rules and all that fun stuff.**

 **Regardless, this update fell victim to Haygood's demands, so there is a bit of mature content in this update, more so than last time I said this. So, if you don't like this development, or that kind of content doesn't pertain to you, you can skip over that scene. I'll give you a heads-up beforehand, so don't worry. If scenes like this happens in the future, I'll make sure to warn you fellas first just like this.**

 **Okay, I'm done this time. Thanks for the awesome feedback last chapter. Glad to see you guys are still actively following. If you can, go ahead and drop a review on this one too. It's always greatly appreciated. Take care fellas, and enjoy this insanely long chapter.**

 ****Update: Oops, almost forgot. Poll on my bio. Check it out. Peace fellas.**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: A Call to Arms**

* * *

It felt like déjà vu again, opening his eyes to the blinding and excruciating white light once more. Joel groaned in disapproval and narrowed his eyes to slits, gradually opening them little by little to become accustomed to the Fichinian white. Not only did his eyes hurt, his head pounded and ached as well, and the worst part was that he couldn't remember a thing about it. He did remember having quite a bit to drink the night prior, but after that was a mystery.

Once Joel's eyes became tolerated to the white, his eyes wandered around to see where he was in the room, only for his heart to practically stop when he looked back down at his chest. Not only was his shirt nonexistent, but there were also two pure white paws wrapped just underneath his ribcage preventing him from getting up. As his senses returned, he started feeling more and more exposed fur pressed up against his back, and eventually started feeling warm breath wash over his neck every once in a while.

 _Oh fuck_ , he thought to himself, feeling himself flush whiter than Skae's fur. _I didn't screw her while I was drunk, did I?_

He wanted to break out of her hold, but after a second thought he stayed in her warm grasp. There was no telling what would happen to him if he left her warmth and escaped out into the cold, especially without a shirt. It was still a mystery on how he got there in the first place, let alone how he managed to forget half of his clothes, bot the last thing he wanted to do was leave her. His first thought was alcohol related, as he noticed the bottle Skae brought out the day prior was almost completely dry. That answer also took into consideration his throbbing headache as well, but one thing he was hoping on was that his alcohol influenced actions didn't involve sleeping with the wolf wrapped around him.

He felt weird being the smaller one in the couple, if he could even call it that. Granted, he was only two inches shorter than her, but it was still weird being cuddled rather than the one doing the cuddling. However, back to the couple thing, he honestly didn't want to call it that, but if this was any indication of what they did the night prior, his mind may have other plans for him. He didn't want to admit it, but he would be okay with having her as the finishing half of his couple.

Skae stirred and opened her eyes, Joel expecting to feel her tighten her grasp and smile, but instead he was greeted with a shrill grasp and suddenly found himself laying on the hardwood floor face-first.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Skae barked, curling herself on the couch as Joel groaned in discomfort, trying to make sense of her suddenly forcing him to the ground.

"Ung… my head," Joel moaned subconsciously.

"What the hell Joel?!" she yipped angrily. "Why were you… Why was I… What the hell?"

"What happened?" was all that came out of his mouth.

Skae growled and wrapped herself in a blanket draped over the top of the couch. "What did you do Joel?" she questioned harshly. "Why the hell were you sleeping with me?"

Joel tried to push himself off the chilly floor, but for some reason couldn't get enough strength to his arms to do so. "Why… why were _you_ sleeping with me?" he asked right back.

That simple question in and of itself seemed to slap some sense back into the lupine. "Wait… _I_ was?"

"I couldn't move when I woke up because you were—"

"Don't you even say it," Skae interrupted. Joel smiled smugly and managed to look up at her.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have been cuddling with me."

"Oh my god," Skae muttered loudly, grabbing both of her furred cheeks in disbelief. "Joel, I'm so sorry! I… I didn't—"

"It's fine Skae," the human grunted, managing to flip himself over and sit up. "We both had too much to drink last night."

"So that's what it was," she whispered, picking the almost empty bottle up hesitantly. "Damn, we really did."

"Well considering that we didn't even know how we got into our situation, I'd have to agree," Joel chuckled, making the white wolf blush even deeper as she folded her black tipped ears flat against the back of her skull.

"Seriously, Joel, I'm sorry," she said nervously. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I was just a little confused."

"That makes two of us," Joel grinned, picking himself up off the floor. "What do you think happened?"

Skae scoffed and stood up as well, taking the blanket off of her frame, unknowingly exposing a bit more ventral fur than Joel would have normally been comfortable with. "I don't know. It was just the alcohol talking, I guess."

Joel could only grunt in approval, his gaze completely locked up on the magnificent creature staring back at him. He couldn't help but let his jaw hang ajar slightly in complete awe, unable to shake the thoughts from his mind. Skae noticed his uncharacteristic actions and cocked her head, only deepening the trance the Lieutenant was locked in.

"Joel?"

His heart fluttered at the sound of his name coming from her deeper, yet smooth and soft-spoken voice. As much as he tried to fight it, he was a prisoner within his own emotions, unable to fight against what his mind wanted to do in that current time. He stayed silent, keeping his eyes locked with hers, and took one short step after another — each one concerning the lupine even more.

"Hey, what are you– _yip_!"

Skae squeaked involuntarily as Joel's seemingly mindless actions only escalated as he clamped both of his hands over her shoulders. She tried to scrunch in to try and avoid him and his extremely concerning actions, but Joel kept on the mindless offensive as he tried to decrease the distance between them. Her eyes were wider than saucers, completely scared shitless at the human. As soon as Joel let a small grin surface, that tipped a wire inside the lupine's head and caused a rather violent chain reaction.

In a matter of seconds, Skae had kneed the human in the stomach, landed a brutal slug to his temple to which he surprisingly didn't black out to, and a violent elbow to the ribcage that sent him sprawling back on the floor again. He wheezed as his conscious came back to him, but by then the damage had already been done.

"What the fuck is your problem Joel?!" she snarled, her tail flicking wildly in anger.

"Skae, I—" he started, but was interrupted as she stormed over and jerked him off the ground. He was surprised by her strength, but that surprise quickly changed to fear as she slammed him into the nearest open wall and glared at him menacingly.

"I'm going to ask you again, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Joel could only sigh and look down at the floor. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you."

"Better make it quick, I'm losing my patience," she growled back, pinning him by his shoulders.

"I think I'm in love with you!" he blurted out suddenly, immediately widening his eyes as his cheeks burnt bright. Skae's hold immediately loosened as she nearly staggered back in sudden shock.

They both stayed in silence, staring at each other in hopes that the other would break the silence first. Neither dared to move, nor even make a move of recognition as they just stared at each other. Joel was blatantly embarrassed and didn't want to break eye contact for fear that would spark a chain reaction, while Skae stared back in complete disbelief, not wanting to break eye contact for fear of ruining the moment.

"W-what?" she whispered softly, increasing Joel's heart rate even more.

"You hate me now don't you?" Joel sighed, breaking the eye contact by staring down at the floor.

"Wait, what?"

"I'm a god damn human; I have no business being here," he started, completely oblivious to the she-wolf. "The only reason we are is because we're stupid, revenge-crazed assholes who want to see everything burn."

"Joel—"

"And I also have no reason to be falling for someone not of my own species," he continued his fast-paced rant much to the lupine's discontent. "But every single time I look at you I keep feeling like there should be more, and when you kept talking about coexistence between us I couldn't help but feel like you were talking about us. I'm stupid, I know, but I just can't stop feeling this way anymore—"

"Joel!" she shouted, breaking the human out of his rant. "Is that all that this is? Are… …are you seriously in love with me?"

Joel sighed and nodded haphazardly. "I'm afraid so."

"Well… …Don't be ashamed of it," Skae said reassuringly, inching closer to the Lieutenant. "I understand what you're feeling, because… well… truth be told, I feel the same way…"

"You?" he echoed in disbelief.

Skae curled her lips into her muzzle and nodded. "Why do you think I didn't kill you when I first saw you? You humans caused all of this grief our kind had to deal with for years, but there was something about you… Something I took a liking to ever since I first saw you."

Joel nearly gasped when his hand suddenly became encompassed in her paw. "It wasn't just because you were human… It was because you were someone that cared about what happened to your team… your family… I couldn't kill someone that would lay their life down for their team."

Joel would have started crying if Skae didn't stop him by squeezing his wrist and smiling. "I quickly realized that your dedication to your team didn't just transfer over to everyone, but for who you cared about as well. Not to freak you out or anything, but I knew you had feeling towards me ever since we got back. When you got drunk last night, I remember how you were and what you said… and what happened afterward."

Joel swallowed hard. "What happened?"

"You told me you loved me like three times," she giggled, swishing her hips almost seductively. "And I told you I loved you back three times… After that, well… …I did this."

Joel didn't have any time to react as he suddenly found himself drowning in Skae's muzzle and tongue. She gripped his face tightly so that he could not break out, but that was implying he wanted to in the first place. His sudden shock eventually melted into serene bliss as he shared that extremely intimate moment with her in complete silence and privacy. Not once did he think sharing a simple, passionate kiss with her would feel this amazing, especially with what they had let slide just moments before.

She pulled away first, twitching her ears happily as the ends of Joel's lips curled upward.

"Was it that great the first time?" Joel asked humorously, getting the she-wolf to giggle back.

"Not as great as today, bug guy," she grinned, nuzzling closer to him. "At least you were aware this time."

"Thanks Skae," Joel smiled, picking his shirt off the ground.

"What, you're gonna go announce the news that you and I are—"

"No, I'm not gonna blurt it out right away," Joe, interrupted. "I don't know how my team would take it."

"I understand," Skae grinned. "Whenever you feel comfortable. I won't force anything on you."

"Thank you," Joel gave her a nudge, but stopped when Skae lifted her transmitter off the table and stared at it curiously.

"Hey, Senator Enroth just sent me something interesting," she said, pointing at her screen as if Joel could read her language. "Says here that he and everyone in the LHC are invited to an address Minister Muzzin is organizing regarding the recent tensions. Says he's gonna attend."

"Is he out of his mind?" Joel questioned seriously.

"No, he's a smart son of a bitch," Skae corrected. "If he goes, that will keep us from looking suspicious and drawing unneeded attention. If Lance goes, that gets us off the radar."

"And who gets put _on_ the radar?" the human asked.

"Senator Monroe of Papetoon," she said confidently, sitting back down on the couch. "Guaranteed he won't show. That will start pointing fingers at him for trying to stay secluded, possibly attempting to hide some sort of _resistance_."

"Muzzin will think he's hiding us," Joel grinned.

"Exactly," the she-wolf nodded. "Which is what we need. We need to be as low-profile as possible now."

She glanced back down at her transmitter screen, a particularly devilish smile surfacing as she read the text on the holographic screen.

"What?" Joel asked curiously.

Skae showed her eyes to the human, keeping that goofy looking smile plastered onto her muzzle.

"Senator Enroth, you are one crazy, fucked up politician… …I love it."

* * *

 **\/#####(WARNING: MATURE CONTENT)#####\/  
\/#####(VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED)#####\/**

* * *

Wolf's dark gray tank top and long, similarly colored cargo shorts clung to his dampened fur as the sweat continued to build up and permeate his training outfit. He eventually started panting as the heat in the Verian firing range was beginning to dehydrate and overheat him. He quickly came to realize that his thick coat of fur was the main cause of his overheating, as well as the steadily declining air conditioning systems due to the Verian's low heat retention.

He wiped enough sweat to fill a shot glass away from his forehead and eyebrows as he lifted the sleek ACR off the counter and gripped the trigger and foregrip. Slipping the holographic red dot sight over his right violet eye, he stared down the target almost one hundred yards down the line and let his clawed digit caress the smooth trigger, just screaming to be pulled.

And just like that, the trigger was pulled, the hammer dropped, and a one-inch metal cased bullet screamed from the rifle and impacted the target dead in the center. However, Wolf forgot to take into consideration the volume of the automatic rifle perched in his paws. As soon as the deafening hammer drop reached his uncovered ears, he cringed in pain and almost let the gun fall out of his grasp. He let out a subconscious string of numerous profanities as he rubbed his ringing ears.

Wolf growled at the rifle and set it on the counter. "Fuck this kinetic shit," he muttered, glaring at the weapon with visible displeasure.

"Get used to it big guy," Jona spoke up suddenly, startling the lupine. "That's the only thing that will work against Darkon and his regime."

"So I gotta put up with this loud as hell gun?" Wolf asked irritably.

"It's the only thing that works," the dragon replied. "Although we can add some insulators into the armor we create for you. It won't be a problem."

"Speaking of that," Wolf started, flicking the safety back on the rifle. "What's the plan for that?"

"Simple, really," Jona grinned, almost smugly as if he knew something the lupine didn't. "Our engineer is actually waiting for you in our forgery."

"And when we get there?" Wolf asked, following the dragon out of the firing range after placing his ACR into its cooled case.

"Since we've never fitted a Cornerian with Guardian armor, we need new dimensions," he continued, swiping his card on the heavy looking door that looked as though it was steaming from excessive heat. "Our engineer is going to measure you from scratch so that she can build you an optimal set of armor that can mold to your unique frame."

"But, you're not much bigger than me," Wolf reasoned, running into a metaphorical wall of scorching hot air as he took his first step into the Verian's blast forgery. Surprisingly, the entire room was empty aside from one female Verian, about a head shorter than Wolf, clothed in only a pair of boots, baggy lightweight cargo pants, and a thin white forgery apron. Her dark brown hair was braided down the center of her light brown scaled back, and Wolf quickly realized that the female was not clothed very much. She was exposing quite a bit of hide, but taking into consideration her working environment and the fact that the Verian's explanation of decency was much less defined than Corneria's standards, he found it acceptable. With as much as she was revealing, Wolf had to fight to keep himself from growing stiff right then and there.

"I know, but I have a distinct set of armor that conforms to my unique body structure. You're leaner than I am, and are… bigger than me, so we need to—"

"Bigger?" Wolf echoed curiously. Jona was about to respond frankly but was cut off by the surprisingly booming voice of the female Verian.

"Ah! Finally!" she shouted happily, tightening her dirty apron. "Wolf O'Donnell?" she asked as she quickly skipped over to the burly lupine. She didn't bother to wait for a response as she grabbed Wolf's paw and shook it vigorously. "I'm Corrine Kislick-Somari. I'll be… fitting you for your armor."

Wolf cocked an eyebrow as she looked down and giggled after finishing her sentence.

"So my father forgot to mention," Jona stated matter-of-factly, crossing his arms. "In order for the armor fitting process to be as accurate as possible, it's mandatory for the subject to…" he made a few glances up and down Wolf's sweaty outfit, making his muzzle contract in protest.

"Are you saying I've got to strip down for this?" he interrogated.

"Even the slightest bit of clothing will interfere with measurements," Jona explained, trying, but failing to withhold his smug grin. "You're lucky we aren't _shaving_ you for this fitting process."

That particular remark made Wolf growl and Corrine giggle once more. She flipped her braided hair and smiled at the larger lupine.

"Your fur in and of itself is the only margin of potential error we can take into consideration," she added, picking at a few long hairs hanging off of his arm. "If we shaved you down completely, which I'd have to admit that may look really strange—no offense—you could keep your clothes on. However, since I can assume you don't want to go through a shaving process, this is my only option."

Wolf turned his muzzle and glared at Jona as if it was his fault for his unfortunate circumstances, but eventually he sucked his pride up and started peeling off the clothing that had clung to his clammy fur and skin.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you for this," he said to the Verian who was already chuckling at Wolf's evident displeasure.

"Not my fault buddy," Jona admitted through laughter, watching as the lupine angrily threw his wadded up tank top at him. He nearly gagged at the potent stench permeating the once soft and pristine cotton, but still managed to continue his talk. "It'll be quick, and once it's over with you won't need another set ever again. Trust me."

"He's right Wolf," Corrine added, grabbing a thick piece of string from her workbench and tying it around her right wrist. "Some Guardians never have to replace their armor, and they use it almost every day. In your circumstances, you may not need to undergo another fitting."

Wolf grunted in approval as he peeled his long shorts off of his legs, leaving him in just a jet black pair of boxers. He already kicked his boots off and set them up against the wall by the door, and as his clawed digits clicked against the cement to return to where the light was the most prolific and defined, he sighed and let his ears fold back.

"Alright," he grumbled, digging his thumb claws into the elastic. "Let's get this over with."

Wolf peeled his last layer of security off, leaving his still slightly damp furry frame completely exposed. Luckily, the heat stemming from the liquid iron bubbling towards the back of the room immediately evaporated the rest of the sweat that was accumulating on his body. Corrine turned around to get a full look, and surprisingly didn't let her light green eyes wander from her job. All she did was nod and grab another, much longer piece of thick string from her bench.

"Not so bad, is it?" Jona asked after a brief momentary pause.

"Get your eyes off my ass," Wolf growled subconsciously, meriting a bout of mirthful laughter from the craftswoman.

"I think it looks nice," Corrine replied with no hesitation, stepping over and crouching down near his tail. Wolf nearly yipped when her surprisingly cold, scaled hand came into contact with his left cheek. "Nice shape. Won't be hard to craft this section."

"…Thanks…?" Wolf said curiously, not knowing if he should take that as a compliment of if she was actually hitting on him. That one inflected word made Jona nearly detonate in laughter.

"Yeah, you do have a nice ass," Jona taunted, knowing that would anger the already pissy lupine even more.

"Shut the fuck up," Wolf growled loudly.

"Hey, shhhh, calm down," Corrine said sweetly, contrasting her usually hyper demeanor. "Don't listen to him. Just stay calm, and I can get this done as quickly as I can, alright?"

"Alright," Wolf muttered in defeat.

Wolf stayed in silence for five minutes afterward, letting out tiny grunts of surprise after her cold hands would touch his body in and around his legs. She worked around both legs and his tail, and even treated him to a nice, yet unintentional tail massage as she was trying to get the correct dimensions for the bushy and fluffy appendage. She eventually made it up to his waist, and this was where Wolf had to be especially careful, especially without any clothes on at all.

Wolf occasionally had to shut his eyes to avoid looking at Corrine while she worked, because there were numerous instances of her accidentally revealing too much to him. That was the only issue with working with a female Verian, as stated before, their description of decency is not as defined as the Cornerians' guidelines for apparel. She just let the apron sit there and cover up whatever it felt like covering up for that particular instance, and her bust was a bit bigger for the apron to completely cover up.

"Alright, here's where it'll get weird," Corrine admitted, and before Wolf could reply he felt that same cold sensation right between his legs. "I'm so sorry; this'll be quick, I promise."

"Oh don't worry, Wolf won't mind a little bit of action down there," Jona let the snarky comment slip.

"Swear to god Jona I'm gonna fucking murder you if you let one more sly-ass comment slip," Wolf nearly snarled, but his feral sounding snarl was replaced almost instantly with a subconscious groan as the cold sensation only increased in intensity. Wolf could see that the smaller Verian craftswoman blushed in reply.

"My apologies," she blurted out on impulse. "I've never fitted a Cornerian before… Uh, Jona, what should I measure… down here?"

Jona pinched himself to keep his laughter under control and shuffled his feet. "Well, knowing Wolfie here, I wouldn't put it against him to get hard during a mission while wearing this. If that happens, it hurts like hell, believe me."

"Sooo, should I add a few extra inches around here just in case?"

"Yeah, I'd rather him be comfortable than hurting. Wouldn't want to jeopardize the mission just because he's thinking about sleeping with his wife when he gets home."

Wolf disregarded Jona's continuous harassment because he eventually started to feel uncomfortable down in his crotch, and he really had to strain to keep himself from growing. Corrine detected his aura of extreme discomfort and smirked to herself, then turned that smirk to Jona.

"Hey, Jona, could you grab me some water from the break room please?" she asked sweetly.

"Well, uh, sure," Jona said hesitantly. "But the nearest room is like ten minutes away. Can you wait that long?"

"Sure, so long as I can get something to drink," she scoffed. Jona shrugged his head and nodded, then disappeared out of the forgery doors. As soon as Corrine couldn't detect his presence outside the door, she relaxed considerably and continued to measure around his waist.

"Feel better now that he's not here with us?" she asked mirthfully.

"Much," Wolf agreed, himself calming down a bit as well. "I mean, this isn't the first time another woman has seen me nude, but usually there hasn't been another guy in the room to pick me to shreds."

"I understand," she grinned. "I know this is going to be extremely weird, but I need a rather interesting measurement, if you don't mind."

"I know what you're going to ask, and the answer is eight and a half," Wolf replied without hesitation.

Corrine's face seemed to drop slightly. "Oh, thanks. Saves the embarrassment for the both of us, I guess."

Even with that remark, the dragoness couldn't help but poke around Wolf's steadily growing arousal, much to his discontent. As much Wolf wanted to fight it, he couldn't keep from letting his full length become fully visible to her. His sexual unrest was becoming quite a hindrance to Corrine's progress as strange as it sounded, so she literally took matters into her own hands.

"Truth be told, the real reason why I had Jona leave is so that I could get some privacy with you," she admitted, glancing up at the wolf. Likewise, he stared down at her crouching frame with his eyebrow raised yet again.

"Um, well, you didn't have to, ya know?" Wolf replied nervously. "I could've been fine with him still in here."

"Well, that's the thing," she continued. "For new armor fittings, especially with the women fitting male soldiers, I can always sense that overwhelming sense of sexual unrest. It happens with everyone. Usually what most women fitters do is try to dissuade that interest by conventional means, but lucky for you, I've got my own cure for it."

"Is that a good thing or bad thing?" he asked pitifully.

"I don't know," she said smoothly, readjusting her footwork. "Depends on if you like this or not."

Wolf couldn't help but let out a gasp as the Verian's slightly chilled hand wrapped around his length and started rocking back and forth.

"Woah, hold on," Wolf yipped. "This really isn't necessary."

She stopped her movements, but still kept her hand clamped around him. "Wow, you're the first guy to ever say no about something like this."

"Well, I'm a faithful, married man," he explained. "I don't think my wife would take too kindly to this."

"It's fine Wolf," Corrine said softly. "I understand. We have to get this unrest out of you, though. That aura you have is affecting my work."

Wolf sighed and nodded. "Alright. It's for the better. Just this once though, alright?"

"Not a problem," she grinned, continuing her movements on the lupine.

"Is… this what always happens?" Wolf grunted out.

"Well, in order to make the fitting as successful as possible in this kind of situation, it's best to give the soldiers what they want," she explained, a smirk creasing her slender snout. "Most of the time, their sexual unrest won't die out unless it's quenched. Usually I tell the guys that get stiff during a fitting to either rub it out or _get_ out. You're an exception."

"An exception?" Wolf echoed.

"Jona was too when I fitted him," Corrine continued. "He was royalty, so I treated him myself. You're the first Cornerian I've ever fit, so I guess it's your lucky day."

Wolf could only grunt in reply as the Verian set back to work on his impressive length, the movements becoming more and more fluid as her hands adjusted to his above average size.

"Oh, and what you said about marriage, it doesn't matter when it comes to these kinds of things, because it's implied it's just for work purposes. When this happens, whether it be of their hands or mine, it's always accepted because a, it eases stress and helps the job; b, it's not a bonding ritual; and c, it's completely consensual from both parties."

"I guess I can't argue with that," he shrugged, grunting and feeling himself draw closer to release with every stroke. "I'm just interested in… how much of a culture… shift this is… for me…"

"I don't blame ya," she agreed, grinning at Wolf's submissive actions ranging from his twitching ears, his wildly flicking tail, and his faint moans of pleasure that increased in volume with every stroke. Once his moans started turning into louder whimpers and faint barks, she took the note and started stroking faster.

"…Mmph, oh… fuck…" Wolf groaned in submission.

"Just let it out, we'll clean it up later," she giggled. "Don't be shy Wolf. It'll come."

"Ungh… this is amazing," he panted. "I can't express how— mmph… ah…"

Knowing that he was within moments of spilling, Corrine decided to inch her snout closer and give him a quick little kiss right on the fissure of his member. That one little sensation from her mouth was all Wolf needed, and as soon as she pulled her face back and stroked him one last time, he let out a loud, breathy howl of complete bliss as he let his built up arousal shoot out over eight feet in front of him, slapping the concrete with an audible wet smack. He shot rope after rope onto the floor, each shot less plentiful than the others, but it still slightly amazed Corrine on how much he actually could hold. After the tenth or so spurt from his now spent arousal, Corrine released her grip.

"Feel better?" she asked sweetly.

"Fuck yes," Wolf panted, smiling weakly. "Thank you."

"It was my pleasure," she said smugly, then tossed a rag at the lupine. "Since I did all the work for ya, you get to clean up the mess. That's another rule we have for this means of eliminating sexual unrest."

"Wouldn't be the first time I had to clean this shit up," the spent and physically tired lupine muttered silently, crouching down to clean up his mess.

Just as Corrine expected, his aura of sexual unrest dissipated almost entirely. Now that she had a clear mind, and a clean floor, she stepped back over to Wolf and continued her measurements. By sheer luck and coincidence, just as Wolf's libido faded and his length shrunk back down, Jona came through the door with a few bottles of water in his arms.

"Alright, how far along are we?" he asked, tossing one of the bottles to the craftswoman, who immediately tore it open and took a long drink.

"Little over halfway," she gasped after getting a full breath of air. "I would be further, but the beast had to be tamed."

Wolf immediately burned red as Jona exploded into booming, uncontrollable laughter.

"Ah, so you took a liking to him as you did to me, eh?" he snickered.

"Well, if it's one thing you guys have in common, it's your visual appeal and stamina," Corrine smirked. "Although, Wolf has you by about an inch and a half Jona."

"Okay, we didn't need to know that," Wolf blurted out.

"Well, now we know why Sheila stays with you," Jona countered.

Wolf gave him a nasty stare and clenched his teeth. "Well if that's the case, you better be thinking about how you're gonna keep your consort by your side—"

The lupine was abruptly cut off by an extremely uncharacteristic snarl from Jona as he unsheathed his pistol and let the gun's priming fill his ears. His smile instantly faded and his ears folded back as a result of the death glare the dragon was giving him.

"Don't ever insult a dragon's mate," Jona said sternly. "If you want to keep a Verian on your side, don't ever insult their mate."

"Sorry," Wolf whimpered. "I didn't mean it."

"I know you didn't, because if you did mean it you'd be on the ground dead right now," he let a small smirk surface. "Sorry for pushing you."

"It's fine," Wolf assured, feeling the craftswoman's string wrap around his waist.

"How is she by the way?" Jona asked abruptly. "Sheila? How's she been?"

"So you didn't hear about her?" Wolf asked right back.

"No, all I heard was that she was sent home yesterday. What happened?"

Wolf let a proud smile surface and crossed his arms. "Turns out they found out she was pregnant. Only took the better part of four, five years but we're finally starting our family."

"Aww, congratulations!" Corrine squealed.

"Grats, my friend," Jona added. "Picked out a name yet?"

"Well, we don't know what it's gonna be yet," Wolf admitted.

"You gonna find out?"

"Hell no," Wolf answered. "I can't stand people that find out what gender their child will be before it's born. It ruins the surprise. We'll find out when that time comes."

Jona nodded and shifted his feet, while Corrine continued to take every single measurement she could find. It took the better part of almost a half an hour, but she eventually had all of her needed information logged in to her data tablet. As soon as the last measurement was taken, she patted his shoulder and handed him a fresh set of clothes.

"Alright, all finished," she grinned. "See? Wasn't too bad, was it?"

"I guess not," Wolf replied, immediately throwing the pair of pants over his legs and privates.

"I can have this set finished by the end of the day since I don't have any other work to complete first," Corrine stated. "Do you have any last minute changes you want to make?"

"Nothing worth noting," Wolf grinned. "Thanks again Corrine."

"Anytime," she replied smugly. "Let me know if you need to let out some stress again," she added with a wink.

"You know I'm married," he remarked, knowing that the female was just teasing him again.

"Good luck on your mission," she added as Wolf backed towards the door. "And good luck with your family too."

"Thanks," the lupine said, giving one last goodbye before he followed Jona out of the hot forgery and into the much cooler hallway. As soon as he was out, he threw the tank-top over his shoulders and let the soft material rub up against his fur.

"She's good, ain't she?" Jona smirked. Wolf caught what he was referring to and immediately smirked back.

"She was amazing," Wolf sighed. "She said she did the same to you? What was that all about?"

"She never told you?" Jona asked in shock.

"She told me she did because you were royalty, but… something didn't seem right about that."

"Well, you're right," Jona said sheepishly. "Corrine was… my first girlfriend at the time of the fitting. It wasn't just for the job during my scheduled time, and it wasn't just _that_ she did either."

Wolf chuckled and shook his head. "So you go in for an armor fitting, and in the meantime you get some tail in the process."

Jona smirked and blushed. "Can't be worse than you and Sheila, no?"

Before the dragon could even elaborate on his remark, he felt the back of his head get thumped, but strangely enough it wasn't from Wolf. He jerked himself around with his combat stance in full affect, but stopped immediately at the recognition of Sheila's cinnamon brown highlighted face.

"Oh… hi," he smiled nervously. "Sorry."

"Oh, it's not you I'm mad at," she smirked, Jona knowing good and well that she was being as sarcastic as possible, but unfortunately Wolf didn't get that memo and stared wide-eyed. She turned to face him, making him lose all of the color in his face.

"She, it—"

"Oh shut it," she purred. "What's this about getting tail on-duty, Wolf?"

Jona smirked and bit his lower lip as Wolf wanted nothing more than to disappear right then and there. "No, Sheila, you don't understand."

"What I understand is that you got your rocks off because of someone else," she grinned smugly, only inching closer to the stuttering lupine.

"She, it was just part of the job," Wolf tried explaining, but the husky just kept enjoying the tension she was creating, even if it was just one-sided.

"Oh, so screwing someone on the job is okay now?" she gave him a gentle push, only increasing Wolf's anxiety. "Then where's mine, huh? I'm part of the job. Why aren't you fucking me, huh?"

"Okay sweetie," Jona intervened, grabbing Sheila's arms and pulled her back, but was rewarded with a nasty jab to his gut that made him double over.

"I hate when people call me that," she growled. "I'm not five. I'm not a princess."

"Clearly," Jona wheezed.

Sheila turned back to Wolf and let a genuine smile surface. "I'm sorry Wolf, I just liked to harass you. I understand what happened. I'm not mad at you. Promise."

"Thank god," Wolf sighed. "I was starting to think you were really upset with me."

"Oh, I still am," she smirked, batting at his legs with her fluffy, slightly curled tail. "You know I hate it when you feel the need to get that out of you, even if it's just something like that."

"I know, I'm sorry," Wolf said sincerely, gently wrapping his arms around his expecting wife. "Should I make it up to you tonight?" he asked smugly.

Sheila found a devilish smile as she nipped at the side of his muzzle. "I was afraid you were never gonna ask."

"Well, I'm not gonna get in the way of… this," Jona said awkwardly, backing towards the opposite end of the hallway, but not before tapping at his transmitter. "Remember Wolf, transport leaves at eight-hundred sharp. That means you two can't be screwing each other all night because Wolf needs the rest."

"Don't worry about it," Wolf said confidently, returning the lust-filled nips back to the light copper husky. "I'll be there."

"Have fun you two," Jona sneered before disappearing into the firing range Wolf was in hours prior. Before Wolf could even process his next move, Sheila had forced him up against the wall, pinning his wrists to the wall with incredible strength. Wolf smirked when Sheila gave him yet another devilish smile, biting her lower lip and purring seductively.

Wolf let out a nervous chuckle when the husky poked and prodded around his face and neck with her slightly wetted nose, giving the lupine some much needed cooling in certain areas around his neck. He wanted o speak, but Sheila cut him off by jamming her tongue through the small slit between his teeth, mushing her muzzle into his with such ferocity that Wolf's arousal he thought that had been spent up came back more powerful than ever. Sheila noticed that he had grown stiff again, but kept him pinned against the wall, making him unable to do anything but sit in submission while she nearly drowned him in her tongue.

Sheila backed away and let him breathe heavily, smirking all the while. "Who says I wanted to wait until tonight?" she purred, licking the tip of Wolf's nose.

Sheila knew good and well that her remark would set Wolf's patience and restraint over the edge, so as soon as she let the sly comment slip she grabbed Wolf by the knot in his pants and kept him on a metaphorical leash.

"Break room, now," he commanded, completely drunken in lust. Sheila loved to hear his dominant side and obliged with his demands, dragging him along the (luckily) desolate hallway while keeping him slightly pleased at the same time. Wolf felt a growl form in his throat as the sensation from earlier in the day surfaced, this time with much more intensity. The husky knew that squeezing him would please him more than just a standard rub out, plus it also satisfied her urge to just feel him out.

Sheila practically forced the captive lupine through the break room door, the motion sensors kicking on and bathing the room in blinding light. Removing the lanyard around her neck with the keycard, she swiped the door—locking it from the inside—then hung the card on the door handle just before Wolf grabbed her and lead her towards the center of the room.

As one of the many break rooms in the VGC HQ building, it was equipped with enough furnishings and appliances to please fifteen soldiers. Complete with a plush carpet floor spread in between three large couches, one of them being an L shaped sectional, and numerous kitchen fixtures, it was perfect for a place to catch a few winks or just to relax after training. In the two canids' case, it was the perfect place to quench bottled up sexual urges.

Sheila was surprisingly the one to be the most dominant as of so far, peeling off Wolf's fresh tank top and tossing it on the floor. Wolf was next, gingerly peeling off Sheila's usual spaghetti strap over-shirt like it was the skin of a succulent, forbidden fruit. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders to try and get to the lock keeping her bust secure, but Sheila prevented him from getting too hungry by pulling his wrists away.

"Ah-ta-ta-ta, you'll get your turn," Sheila cooed, forcing his arms down to his side. "Remember, this is the consequences you get for spilling your load for someone else."

Wolf blushed redder than the husky's bra, chuckling slightly and silently as she started kissing and licking at his exposed chest fur. What the lupine did in the meantime, however, was pull her long, black combat shorts down to her ankles exposing her matching set of very tiny and incredibly revealing crimson red panties. If Wolf was able to get even more aroused, he did as soon as her pants came off. She felt the cool air conditioning permeate through the fur he had exposed for her, and to thank him for it she started another barrage of intoxicating kissing just underneath his jawline, swaying her hips and fluffy tail in the process.

To her surprise, Wolf stayed surprisingly mellow throughout the duration of her teasing, only letting out soft moans of pleasure and sometimes discomfort as the bulge in his pants was becoming too much for him to handle. She did him a favor by crouching down and sticking her clawed thumbs into the elastic of his boxers, slowly pulling the undergarment down, and in a matter of seconds she pulled it down far enough to let his arousal spring out and come into full view. Both canines kicked their respective clothes off of their ankles, but Sheila stayed on her knees. Wolf knew what was going to happen next, and aided her in doing so as he gently grabbed her cinnamon hair explosion and guided her muzzle towards his length. She kissed the head and shaft repeatedly, just teasing the lupine more, but right as he thought he was going to take matters into his own paws he felt her nearly swallow his length in one smooth motion.

Sheila giggled to herself as Wolf's blissful moan broke the still silence between them. She knew this was one of his favorite things she did, and likewise she loved to hear him moan in submission. Wolf's ears and tail flicked wildly as she continued to bod her head back and forth, trying to take all of his almost nine inch length into her muzzle all at once. That continued for almost three minutes until Wolf yet again broke the silence.

"Oh god…" the lupine panted, tightly shutting his eyes. "Fuck, Sheila, I'm… Mmmph…"

 _Already?_ she thought in disbelief, pulling her muzzle away with an audible pop. "Don't give up on me now, Woof," she cooed, again licking the head of his length before sliding back in completely. Wolf moaned yet again as he aided her bobbing head by grabbing her hair. Soon it became too much for the lupine to handle, and as he tightly held Sheila's head and forced her muzzle in, he let out a loud howl and filled the husky's muzzle. Considering what happened hours prior, he was surprised that so much came out, so much so that Sheila couldn't hold it all. She let some of the wolf's product dribble out of her lips as his shots waned, and once he stopped completely she swallowed hard and smiled at him, a few thin strands of his seed hanging from the top of the husky's muzzle.

"Oh Sheila," he panted, feeling his legs start to give out. "How do you do it?"

"I guess it's easy when I have someone like you to do it to," she grinned smugly, standing up to his height. She immediately leaned forward and locked his lips into another kiss, grinding her body against Wolf's still solid member longingly and lustfully. Wolf nearly gagged as he could still taste some of his product lingering on the husky's lips, but disregarded the awful taste so that he could get to the rest of her clothes.

He unclasped the lock holding Sheila's scarlet red bra, letting that garment fall to the floor. He didn't bother to play around with her perfectly rounded breasts just yet, because there was still a piece of clothing that had yet to be removed. He peeled off her panties just like he did her shirt, and once she was just as exposed as he was, his dominant nature surfaced as he pushed her onto the sectional. Sheila just managed to make herself comfortable on her back right before Wolf pounced on top of her and started his own barrage of kissing, nipping, licking, and sucking in and around her chest.

"Yes, oh god yes," she sighed, letting her head fall back. Wolf took that invitation to do something he always wanted to do, and Sheila didn't say anything before it was too late. Her back arched and her moans intensified as Wolf prodded between her legs with his tongue, not missing a single inch. She cried out in intense pleasure as he just continued to drive his long lupine tongue as deep as he could go, loving every little bit of her bliss.

"Wooollllf!" she moaned loudly, starting to get driven over the edge by his amazing tongue work. She first felt like she would explode, and she nearly did with the intense pleasure she was feeling, but all of that pleasure intensified all at once, leaving her out of control of her own body as it convulsed and contracted in overwhelming bliss. At the same time, she clamped her legs around Wolf's head and doused his muzzle in her fluids as an ear-splitting shriek of pure pleasure echoed throughout the room. Once her pleasures calmed she released the wolf's head, who immediately gasped for breath.

"Sorry honey," she panted, letting herself melt into the couch as she still had no control of her muscles. "Your tongue is just too amazing. I can't even explain it."

"If you think that was great," Wolf grinned, laying himself on top of the husky and poking the tip of his muzzle around her face. "Just wait."

Sheila started getting giddy as she knew what his plans were next. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he readjusted his mount, and before thrusting forward he looked back at the husky who was anticipating his next move.

"You ready babe?" he asked, using his free paw to guide his length across her nethers.

"Do it," she commanded. "Fuck me silly Wolf."

The lupine needed no second invitation as he speared her with his entire length right off the bat, Sheila howling loudly as a result. She subconsciously wrapped her legs around his waist, letting the lupine drill into her to his heart's desire.

Wolf knew she loved it rough, but this time was an exception with her being expecting and all, so he did mellow out and made sure she was comfortable. She didn't scream like she did the first thrust, but Wolf knew she was loving every second of it judging by her elated expression and breathy sighs of subtle pain but predominant pleasure.

"Oh god, right there," she moaned in ecstasy. "Right fucking there. Ah! Wolf!"

"Fuck, Sheila!" Wolf grunted, drawing close only after about two minutes or so. "Just… ngh… a little more…"

Wolf continued to drive forward, each thrust tossing Sheila back about a half a centimeter on the couch. Her low moans of bliss started escalating into howls of overwhelming pleasure, only increasing Wolf's movements. Her yelling and screaming hit a peak as her muscled tensed up yet again, sending heavy shockwaves throughout every muscle in her body. Her tongue laid limply out of her muzzle as Wolf called out her name one last time and made one final push forward, spilling let another load into the husky. She hummed in approval, feeling the lupine's seed wash into her without bounds. Wolf eventually collapsed in exertion, falling on top of the husky and laying his muzzle right next to her neck.

"That was incredible," Sheila whispered weakly, panting heavily as her orgasm subsided.

"Did you expect anything different?" Wolf cooed, gently pecking at her cheek.

"I love you Wolf," the canine blurted out softly, shutting her eyes as tiredness and exhaustion set in quicker than Wolf wanted. He shook his head with a smirk when he realized she had fallen asleep, and due to the fact that he was knotted with her, there was no way of him to get out without waking her up.

He managed to wedge himself in between her body and the back of the couch, wrapping his arms around her midsection and cuddling her warmly. He laid his muzzle on top of her head and relaxed in her presence, enjoying the last bit of company with her before he had to ship out tomorrow. He needed some rest too, and while he was stuck knotted with her he figured he'd use that to his advantage.

"I love you too She," he muttered subconsciously before tightening his hold on her soft frame, drifting off to dreamland with her in a matter of moments.

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

All Vince could do in his current state was lie on his cold bunk, listening to the groaning and moaning of other prisoners in separate cells as he reminded himself of the events that had transpired over the past twelve hours.

Shortly after he had disassembled his setup, Katnian security forces knocked on his door in attempts to peacefully apprehend him, which ended up going in their favor. Vince never let his emotions show, and obliged with the officers as they slapped some energy binds around his wrists and took him down to the Katinian detention center. As soon as he was handed off, however, they were anything but gentle. Despite his reputation among the CDF, he was treated as a terrorist.

His long list of charges brought against him included breaching a secure satellite network, breaching a secure archive of a foreign power, electronic espionage, breach of an already unstable peace, and, of course, electronic terrorism. Strangely, most of the charges were from the Cornerian government.

If the guards at the detention center were bad, the inmates were worse. He narrowly escaped being beaten, shived, and almost raped by some of the much larger prisoners. However, his gasses did get crushed, as well as a bit of his pride, but he was lucky enough that the constant and consistent abuse was enough for the guards to ease up and give him his own cell.

After twelve hours of pure hell, Vince just laid there on his bunk trying to process what the hell happened throughout the course of the day, and his plan of action once he was able to get out, if that could happen. That was, until a large shepherd guard walked into the block and banged his baton on his bars.

"Stazac, get up," he ordered. "You're being transferred."

The abused vulpine shifted uncomfortably and sat up. "Huh? To where?"

"Just get your worthless—" the guard started but was cut off by a sweet, melodious voice.

"That's enough sergeant," a silver dragoness said sternly. "I think Mr. Stazac has been through enough today."

The shepherd immediately let his ears flatten. "Yes your majesty. Please forgive my rudeness."

She let a small grin surface and inched closer. "You are forgiven. You're just doing your duty as you were trained to."

That seemed to relax the guard somewhat. He turned his gaze back to the scientist and poked a clawed thumb at the Verian. "You're being transferred to Lady Izalia's custody, pending trial for espionage. Muzzin's orders."

"Huh?" Vince choked out.

"I managed to convince Minister Muzzin that for the sake of peace, the Verian Kingdom should get to try you for crimes first, as we are the wronged party in this matter," Izalia reasoned sweetly. "And Muzzin actually agreed — your actions nearly caused a system-wide commotion. So to try and calm the tensions, you are being tried in the Verian Courts."

The vulpine sensed that something was amiss, but for the time being he kept it to himself. "Very well… I shall not resist," he said in defeat.

"Good," Izalia said, gesturing to her two armed Verian Guardians, who stepped in to the cell and placed Vince in energy binds before escorting him out of the block and onto the landing pad where the _Valliant_ was waiting. She handed a data pad presenting the prisoner transfer order to the guard, who pressed his thumb on the box on the screen and applied his signature afterward signifying that the prisoner was in her custody.

"I will send the copy to your office," she said over the roaring of the _Valliant's_ engine priming. "Thank you for your time sergeant."

"Safe travels ma'am," the guard replied and went about his rounds after the dragon and her prisoner stepped aboard.

Once aboard the Valliant and out of the view of the Katinian security guards, Vince suddenly felt the binds around his wrists loosen. "Wha—"

"Shhh," one the soldiers hushed him, placing a hand over his muzzle to keep him quiet. "Lady Izalia will explain momentarily. We're to escort you to the lounge."

The researcher just nodded and followed them deeper into the ship. They led him to a small room towards the interior of the ship, consisting of a few comfortable looking chairs and a few other furniture items. Once the guards left him alone in there, he started to feel the ship shutter and ascend, signifying that they were leaving Katina.

He still had no idea what was going on.

He threw himself upon the nearest chair, but barely had enough time to exhale before the silver dragoness appeared in the doorway.

"Sorry for your wait," Izalia apologized in such a way that Vince couldn't help but feel relaxed. "I had a few last minute things to see to make sure that this transfer _stayed_ looking legitimate." she made her way into the room and sat across from the confused scientist. "Well you did illegally access your military's secure satellite network, then illegally accessed House Salfar's secure archive… or more specifically, _my_ personal archive. The CDF was alerted the moment you used their system to hack ours, and I was alerted the moment you breached Inferno."

"Why?" Vince blurted out, as the wait for him to speak his mind grew too large for him to handle. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"So it was answers you sought," the queen mused. "You've seen the evidence and heard my documentation of the First Contact war."

"I did, though it seemed a little…"

"Bias?"

"Erm… yes," Vince hesitated, twiddling his thumbs nervously. Izalia noticed that his floppy snow white ears folded back, so she cleared her throat and continued in a very reassuring voice.

"I can't help but feel that we're partly to blame, though," she explained, then paused momentarily. "Aeon is ambitious… He wants to dominate a world and call it his, but his attempts to conquer Veris Alpha are not his own, but his fathers. …Aeon's advisors are that of his father's regime; his father's generals. They keep him on a metaphorical leash."

"But, what's this have to do with him destroying the satellite, and more importantly Corneria City?" Vince asked.

"Aeon wants his own world to rule; he cares not for the laws of his house," the dragoness stated. "The plots and planning he does is not just simply that of a madman as I've stated in the recordings, but are the moves of a tactician… a genius…" she shook her head gently. "Every conflict he starts between these worlds… he's getting closer to his goal. He nearly succeeded six years ago when Corneria attacked Terra falsely, and nearly caused the demise of the CDF's networking and structure. He would have invaded either Terra or Corneria when the dust settled between them, whichever was in the weaker state. Luckily, we managed to subdue his forces before he could."

Vince listened intently, processing everything that he was hearing. "But… why didn't you tell us?" Vince asked pitifully, his voice noticeably shaking. "Why didn't you warn us?"

"Do you know the burden of seeing _everything_ that happens around your people, and yet the power to speak out was suddenly taken away?"

"The relays…" Vince concluded quietly.

"Why do you think we didn't answer the call to arms? Why we didn't say anything?" Izalia questioned. "We were recovering from a conflict, and we had no strength to intervene. We're still recovering from that near disaster of conflict as we speak."

Vince grunted in acceptance.

"Aeon is still rebuilding his army, but to what end this time we don't know. We know that he managed to convince one of the worlds—we do not know which—to attack Cerinia to try and goad us into attacking Corneria, though I expect they weren't counting on Roja being present to defend the village they chose to burn. Their mission ultimately failed, as they made too many mistakes in their attempts to frame Corneria. They left too many witnesses."

Izalia sighed and looked out the reinforced window into the void as they cleared Katina's atmosphere. "But that is not what worries me," she added.

"Then what does Lady Izalia?" Vince asked, his respect for her deepening a little.

She revealed one of Vince's holographic display mechanisms and powered it on, and as soon as it hit the table in between her and the scientist a planet popped up. An all too familiar planet.

She pointed a clawed digit at what looked to be a massive orbital base just outside the atmosphere. Vince's muzzle dropped in utter shock.

"What?!" he yipped. "That— That's impossible!"

"Well, when Cornerian equipment is left behind, nothing is impossible," Izalia explained. "The remnants of Cornerian tech can exponentiate development substantially, evident from not just one, but two orbital bases, with numerous cruiser capable of interstellar travel. How can I prove this? They're _here_."

Vince's blue eyes shot wide open. "This can't be true!"

Izalia just nodded her head. "One of our patrolling squadrons engaged a Cornerian Destroyer over a week ago, and her information directly mirrored the _Great Fox_ , minus the construction."

"James' ship," Vince whispered to himself in disbelief. "They salvaged it…"

"Precisely," she agreed. "And they're here in Lylat. Which is why we came and retrieved you."

Vince cocked his head. "You need me?" he asked.

"You're the only one that possesses the knowledge to infiltrate secure networks, as evident with how you got into this situation in the first place," she let a smirk surface. "My husband and I decided that your knowledge should not be wasted sitting in the basement of a Katinian military branch, awaiting trial for something we take full responsibility for."

Vince shrugged his head and crossed his legs. "So, you need me to track these humans down?"

"No, we already know where they are," Izalia explained. "We just need you back at HQ to prevent Corneria from finding out of our intentions. Muzzin is adamant about keeping us off of his turf, but if he keeps that mentality up, the Terrans will blindside him. It drives my husband mad knowing that Muzzin is pushing away his much needed help, and that will eventually lead to Corneria's demise if we can't get it through his thick skull."

Izalia folded her hands and leaned forward. "I need you to kill their eyes. Make them completely oblivious to the outside like the Terrans did to you when they first got here."

"Easy stuff," Vince smirked.

"I was hoping you would say that," the queen finally smiled. "When we get back to Veris Alpha, I will personally outfit you with brand new equipment, which should make your job hundreds of times easier."

"Oh, Lady Izalia, that really isn't necessary," Vince chuckled.

"Please, I insist," the dragoness grinned. "If you have the potential to end this conflict, we will assist you by any means necessary." She stood up and removed the wrist transmitter wound around her left arm, which Vince immediately realized was his. "Now, I assume you have some calls to make?" she asked, outstretching the transmitter to the arctic fox.

Vince graciously accepted the device and immediately wound the strap around his wrist. "Thank you, your majesty," he said, bowing his head gingerly.

"No, thank you, Mr. Stazac," Izalia said warmly. "I look forward to working with you when you get back. I'll give you some privacy so that you can complete your intentions. Rest well."

"Thank you Lady Izalia," Vince replied just as she backed away and slipped out of the room. Immediately he activated the transmitter and waited for it to warm up. As soon as the familiar pale blue screen greeted his similarly colored eyes, he punched in a few numbers and let the dial tone fill his ears.

"C'mon…" he muttered under his breath, and to his relief an unmistakable voice spewed out at him.

"Cornerian Defense Force security line, this is Lieutenant Kassian. What seems to be the issue?"

"Kass, where's Wes?" he immediately questioned.

"Who is this?" the copper husky asked right back.

Vince nearly scoffed. "It's Vince Stazac, now get me Wes now! It's urgent!"

"Wait, Stazac?!" Kassian exclaimed. "How the hell—"

"I'll explain later," the arctic fox interrupted. "I need Wes right _now_ , dammit!"

"Alright, alright," the husky said quickly in defeat. "Transferring call now."

After a quick beep and split-second silence, Wes' unmistakable accented voice spewed out at him.

"Vince!" he boomed. "Boy have I got half the mind to slap some sense into— wait, what the fuck? How the hell did you…?"

"Sir, I've got some really important information you need to know," Vince interrupted.

"I know, that's why you should be behind bars and _not_ on a call with me," Wes snapped.

"No, sir, hear me out," Vince pleaded.

"Tell me how the hell you got out of there!"

"Wait, you didn't organize the pickup?" Vince questioned.

"What the fuck?! PICKUP?! WHO?!"

"Calm down sir, it was Lady Izalia's team," the vulpine explained. "She authorized removal."

"Well I sure fucking didn't," Wes growled. "Why the hell did she?"

"Sir, you don't understand, the information you were given was wrong," the arctic fox pleaded.

"How?"

"The only thing I hacked into was the Verian's database, sir," he said softly. "Not once did I break into your archives."

"That's not what I was given," Wes retorted.

"That's because it was Muzzin giving the report, right?" Vince blurted out. "If he saw I was trying to get into Verian databases, he wanted to add more charges against me to try and keep me from escalating things. In reality though, I have very important information you need to hear."

"I'm listening."

Vince told the hybrid general everything, ranging from the information he deduced from analyzing the satellite wreckage, the proof with Queen Izalia's recording depicting everything that happened as a result, and Izalia's words herself after they picked him up. After the intense verbal bomb he let loose, Wes' first response was something Vince was not expecting out of him.

"Holy fucking shit," he said quietly to the point where Vince had to strain to hear him. "Mother of all things almighty what the actual fuck?"

"What's your course of action, sir?" the arctic fox asked hesitantly.

"To be frank Stazac, I have absolutely no fucking idea," he growled. "I can't be mad—they did everything they could have done in their situation—but… so much chaos could have been prevented if they just sent at least one person to let us know what happened. I… I'm at a loss for words…"

"I would suggest letting your fellow secretaries know first, sir," the vulpine suggested abruptly.

"Good call," Wes grunted in approval. "But something of this caliber needs to be addressed to everyone. I'll have to explain during the address tomorrow. To everyone. Everyone needs to know."

"I can send the transcripts with what I have available to me, sir," Vince smiled to himself.

"Yes, please do," Wes agreed. "Thank you Stazac. I'll make sure to credit you with the findings."

"Oh, don't worry about that sir," Vince grinned. "Just make sure that the people know the truth, especially Muzzin. He should be your priority sir."

"Damn straight," Wes replied. "Thanks again Vince. I owe you big time for this."

"Anytime sir," the fox said happily. "Take care."

They hybrid terminated the call first, leaving Vince alone with his transmitter. He finally did what he needed to do.

Although, he wasn't done yet.

There was still one important person that needed to know.

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Falco was practically in tears and choking on his food as he struggled to retell his story to those who were even the slightest bit interested.

"So, he and I were just sittin' there after class, just talkin', ya know?" the bird continued. "And you know Foxie, he's always one to start somethin' no?"

"I have trouble believing that," Bill chuckled. "If anything you egg Fox on."

"Well, this time was an exception," Falco interrupted. "He was gettin' his books, when I give him a nudge and says, hey, you think we should go out for somethin' to eat?"

He took a brief swig of his water before he folded his wings on the table in front of his tray. "He tells me he's not interested since he had to do some homework or whatever. I told him that we had homeroom the next day and he could do his homework there."

"I think I know where this one is going," Miyu remarked, giving the fennec fox next to her a gentle elbow.

"He told me he had some meetin' to go to durin' homeroom," the avian continued. "I says, dude, you gotta let up every once in a while and take life easy."

"Of course _you_ would know that," Fara remarked sarcastically.

"He actually said that," Falco smirked, leaning forward slightly. "That sparked a little bit of a fight, which actually turned into a little bit of friendly harassment, ya know?"

"I'd like to know your definition of _friendly_ ," Bill shot snidely.

"Ya know what dog-boy, I'm gettin' tired of you interruptin' my stories," Falco retorted, flaring his feathers out.

"Chill, birdie," Arcene butted in sweetly, then turned to face the gray canine. "Let 'em finish, buddy."

"Thanks Arcy," Falco chirped, sending a glare Bill's way. "As I was saying, I was just givin' him a bit of grief about bein' a _goody two shoes_ , and he comes back with how I don't care about anythin' other than myself. I can tell he's gettin' pissed, but I just keep harassin' him 'cause he knows I'm jokin'."

"Did he really?" Miyu smirked.

"He knew I was kiddin', yeah, but this time he was just really pissed. He starts shootin' at me, and now I'm gettin' pissed 'cause he won't take a simple joke. Pretty soon we're snappin' at each other, and there was one particular comment he made that drove me over the edge. I straight up slugged him right in the nose."

All three girls at the table giggled as Falco took another bite of his food.

"Was he alright?" Fara asked, meriting a sly glare from the silver vixen sitting alongside her that she didn't notice.

"Yeah, I actually chipped one of his canine teeth and broke his muzzle, but he was fine," Falco snickered. "Here's the funny thing; we were sittin' at his house a few weeks later, and he's got his entire face in a muzzle to help with healin', but he's sittin' there laughin' about the whole thing. He admitted he said some things that he regretted sayin', and I the same, but we seriously just laughed the whole thing off."

"Crazy vulp," Miyu smirked.

"He said some things, I got pissed, I smashed his face in, but here we are now," Falco laughed. "I'll admit I started the whole thing, but… man that was just too funny."

"I'll say," Fara giggled.

"Oh, Arcene," Falco suddenly spoke up. "Do you know if Fox still has that chip in his tooth?"

"What do I care?" the vixen growled, angrily stabbing her fork into her salad.

Falco raised his hands and cocked his head. "Well… sorry I asked."

"You alright Arcene?" Bill asked.

"I'm fine," she said sternly, crunching down on the crisp lettuce.

"Speak of the devil," Falco suddenly exploded, waving his right hand in the air. "Foxie! Come 'ere!"

Arcene growled in the back of her throat as the orange vulpine plopped down in the seat right next to Falco with his tray of food. He smiled at everyone sitting at the table, but it looked as though his smile at the vixen sitting across from him fell either unnoticed or ignored. He let out a sigh of defeat and twirled some of the pasta on his tray.

"How you fellas been?" Fox said before taking a bite.

"We were just talkin' about how I socked you a while back and broke your face," Falco chuckled, making Fox nearly spit the pasta back out.

"I remember that," Fox laughed. "You hit me hard."

"Not hard enough," Arcene grumbled, again jabbing her fork into her salad. Falco narrowed his eyes at her, but before he could speak up he felt the back of Fox's paw gently tap his shoulder, implying he should just keep silent.

"Anyway," Bill awkwardly spoke up. "Not to change the subject or anything, but have you guys been following along with what's been happening with the colonies?"

Falco scoffed. "Which one? They're all havin' their own problems."

"Papetoon, bird brain," Bill retorted calmly. "They're only one step away from LHC retraction."

"Man, what the hell is Senator Monroe doing?" Fara questioned irritably.

"The right thing," Fox responded. "He's playing it smart by getting out of Muzzin's imposing power."

"But if war breaks out that'll be the first place he goes to reclaim," Miyu remarked. "If anything Monroe is instigating."

"Wait, how is _he_ instigating?" Fox asked.

"I'm with Foxie on this," Falco added on. "If anything Muzzin is creatin' all of the tension. Someone needs to step up and tell him to stop overreactin'."

"Well don't get Fox to do it, 'cause we all know how that will end," Arcene shot under her breath. Again, Falco went to speak up at her but Fox impeded his progress just like before. This time the vulpine grabbed his arm and moved him in closer so that he could talk to him without the others hearing.

"Just leave her be," Fox whispered. "She needs to get this steam out of her system."

"But this ain't good for either one of you," the avian reasoned. "You gotta speak up sometime."

"I'll get to it," Fox assured falsely. "Just keep your cool. I've got this."

Falco nodded hesitantly and turned back to his meal, but just happened to see the death glare the silver fox's piercing orange eyes were giving him. He would have frozen up in fear if Miyu didn't break the awkward silence.

"Is something wrong Arcene?" she asked calmly. "You don't seem like yourself."

"I told you I'm fine," she snapped, threatening to dent the tray under her fork. "I'm just feeling a little _betrayed_ right now."

Fox winced as she stared right at him towards the end of her sentence. He swallowed hard and set back to work on his lunch, while Falco just patted his back in reassurance.

"I think I'm missing something here," Fara remarked, narrowing her eyes. "Is something up between you two?"

"Well _you_ sure aren't missing anything," Arcene countered bitterly, curling her eyebrows downward. "You've got everything you could ever want."

"Arcene?" Bill called out as Fara tilted her ears back.

"Wait, I don't know what _that_ has to do with anything," the fennec said hesitantly, only provoking more anger from the smaller vixen.

"What I _mean_ is that you already have enough going for you," Arcene said through clenched teeth, threatening to snap her plastic fork in half.

"Again, I don't see what you're getting at," Fara replied, a little perturbed at what was said to her.

"Girls, chill," Falco tried to reason, but they were just too oblivious.

"Why doesn't _that_ surprise me?" Arcene scoffed.

"What the hell is your problem?" Fara growled right back.

"Oh gee, I would've thought you knew," Arcene retorted, contracting her muzzle.

"Arcene, calm down," Fox butted in, and judging from the silver fox's expression he immediately wished he kept his mouth shut.

"Don't tell me to _calm down_ , asshole!" she snapped, stunning everyone at the table. "If anything the only thing I want to hear you telling me is an apology!"

Fox sat there in stunned silence as his ears slowly fell back against his head. Still not breaking eye contact with the seething vixen, he stood up out of his chair and set his utensils down. Falco tried to reach out to him, but decided against it when Fox shut his eyes and turned his muzzle to the floor.

"I'm sorry," he whimpered, feeling a tear accumulate in his eyelid. "Are you happy now?"

Arcene didn't even make a motion of recognition. He wanted to say more to her, but instead he turned away and trotted out of the mess hall without another word.

All eyes fell on Arcene, who was slowly starting to let her anger simmer down. As a result of that, delayed repercussions of her actions started to hit her — how her snapping must've affected him. And just like that, she knew how much Fox hated himself for snapping at her the day prior. It was the same situation; a failure to communicate and comprehend what the other person was going through.

Now it was her turn to feel empty. Once the adrenaline of her verbal explosion dissipated, she realized how much of a bitch she was to him, to be frank. At the same time, she realized that Fox was just having a rough day the day prior, and even though he snapped, he had his reasons for it. All she wanted was an apology, but now it was her turn to do so.

"Now look what you did," Fara abruptly shot. "Good one."

Arcene didn't bother replying as she too got out of her seat and chased after the orange vulpine, not wanting to escalate tensions any further. She just happened to see his tail disappear around the corner back towards the labs, so she immediately picked up her pace to try and catch up with him.

"Fox," she called out to try and get his attention, but he kept walking down the hallway with his tail tucked. She whimpered internally at his evidently grief-stricken state and trotted up alongside him.

"Fox," she repeated, but again Fox did not have a reply. "Fox I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Arcene eventually grunted in frustration when he lacked a reply once more and stepped in front of him, stopping him in his tracks as she grabbed his wrists.

"Fox, listen to me," she whimpered trying to get him to look at her. "I'm sorry. You aren't the one that needs to apologize, alright? It's my fault this is happening."

The taller vulpine stayed silent.

"Fox, please!" she pleaded, gripping his arms tightly. "I didn't know what you were going through yesterday. I should have left you alone. It's all my fault."

Fox looked away once more, keeping his ears folded back.

"Look at me Fox," she commanded, trying to push his gaze back down to her, but Fox refused to look down out of shame. "Fox, please!"

Only by frustration and repeated failure did Arcene decide to get his attention by slapping him, hard. She first thought it worked, as his emerald green eyes shot wide open at the reverberations of her hard right paw smack, but something in his eyes told her a different story. Something completely different. His body language had immediately shifted, but she didn't realize anything was wrong with him until a split-second immediately after her shot at him resulted in—

 ** _SMACK_**

The left side of the vixen's face instantly went numb after a harsh burning sensation accompanied a subconscious reflex triggered in Fox's brain by her initial slap on the vulpine. It wasn't a gentle smack either, it was a full force open paw swing right across Arcene's muzzle and cheek so hard that it made her fall backwards onto her tail. She let out a yelp of sudden pain and predominant disbelief, and slumped against the hallway wall as she covered her stinging muzzle. Fox himself recoiled in complete and utter shock as his paw started throbbing at the force he applied to the heartless and subconscious slap across the vixen's face. He immediately covered his muzzle with both paws as Arcene let a waterfall of tears traverse down her already reddened cheek.

He couldn't bring himself to speak as the shock of hitting someone he loved completely washed over him. All he did was take step after short step backwards until his tail brushed up against the opposite hallway wall, still not breaking his wide-eyed stare on the writhing vixen. His breathing almost stopped entirely as he waited for Arcene's eyes to make contact with his.

Arcene's heart snapped in half the moment Fox's paw made contact with her. She refused to look back at him, not out of hatred, but out of fear. Truth be told, she was scared of Fox now. Not once did he ever let this much anger show, especially in this violent manner. It was _feral_ the way he hit her, and she was right in being afraid of the larger vulpine. She didn't want to make another mistake that would trigger something else in his head that he himself didn't even know existed.

Eventually, Fox dropped to his knees and sobbed quietly. "Arcene," he choked over his tears. "What are we doing?"

That was _not_ the question she was expecting out of him. The way that he put so much grief on it as well made her fell downright awful, as she knew that this bump in their relationship was threatening to tear the entire damn thing apart, and he knew that evident fact as well.

"What are we doing to each other?" he repeated in a horribly broken voice sounding like scraping a fork in a metal bowl, tears streaming down his cheeks and turning them a deeper and darker shade of orange. "This… shouldn't be happening with us…"

Arcene finally let her tear-stained red-orange eyes surface, staring into Fox's soul with such a far-sighted view that it was a wonder is she had ever met him before.

"Arcy," he started, his voice faltering significantly, practically crawling along the floor to get closer to her. In response, she scrunched her neck in as if to try and escape him somehow. "Did… …Did I hurt you?"

Fox said that sentence so pitifully that whatever was left of the vixen's broken heart melted instantly. She only whimpered silently and flattened her ears, giving the answer Fox dreaded hearing without her even having to speak.

"Come here baby," the vulpine squeaked, outstretching his arms only to his elbows. "Please… I need you…"

Arcene was reluctant to leave, only curling up against the wall even more.

"Arcene…" Fox nearly cried, tears flowing down his cheeks. "Please come back to me…"

Again, the sliver vixen said nothing, only deepening her stare at him. Fox couldn't help but let a sob escape his muzzle.

"I can't live without you Arcy," Fox sniffed. "I don't want to live without you. Just… please… Please come back…"

That simple act of desperate longing gave her that much needed sense of protection. Hesitantly abandoning her curled up defense position, she gently leaned forward and into the grasp of the larger tod, who in response immediately buried his muzzle into her hair and embraced her tightly, never wanting to let her go.

"I'm so sorry," Fox whimpered shakily, stroking the back of her silky hair. "Never let me do that to you again. Never. It was… just too hard… …It was too hard to see you leave."

Arcene eventually started crying herself as she tightened her hold on the vulpine's neck, disregarding the fact that they were still sitting on the cold concrete floor.

"I love you Arcy," he said, tightening his hold if that was physically possible without hurting the vixen. "Don't ever let me tell you different. I may say and do some stupid shit in my life, but never will I tell you to leave me. Never."

"I love you too Fox," she too squeaked out, not loosening her grip. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to be sorry," Fox corrected, gently pulling her face out of his shoulder by gently grasping her fluffy cheeks. He wiped away a few lingering tears with his thumb and let the smallest half-grin in the universe surface. "I started all of this. I should be the one apologizing."

Fox's right paw ventured back to scratch her ear. "I hit you for god's sake. If anyone should apologize, it's me."

Arcene continued to stare into his green eyes, leaning towards his warm grasp he had on her cheek.

"I'm sorry baby," he said once more, tilting her muzzle up to his. "Can you forgive me?"

Arcene stayed silent and motionless for a few moments, but what Fox wasn't expecting was for her paws to grab his cheeks and force him in for a kiss. Fox took that action as a yes and cupped the back of her head, only deepening the shared kiss between the two lovers. Their tongues fought an intense battle, as neither one wanted to give up in seeing which one could last the longest. Fox lost the fight, only because Arcene lost her sense of balance and toppled on top of him, forcing him to break the kiss and gasp for breath.

"I forgive you," she grinned, rubbing her nose on his. "I'm just glad this is over. I hate being mad at you Fox."

"How do you think I felt?" Fox asked right back. "I thought I lost you when I snapped at you, but I had to draw the line at hitting you. I still can't believe I did that to you. I don't know what got in to me."

Arcene stayed silent, as she knew he wasn't done talking.

"I hate to see you in pain," Fox continued, himself starting to tear up once more. "You're too beautiful to be in pain, or cry like that. I love you too much to see you cry, especially when I started it in the first place."

Fox gently picked himself up, then once he was on his feet he clutched at Arcene again and rested his muzzle on the top of her head.

"I love you Arcy," Fox repeated. "I'm sorry for doing this to you… to us…"

"I forgive you," she repeated sweetly. "I love you too."

Fox smiled back and kissed the tip of her nose, but right as she as going to return the favor he heard his transmitter buzz. Puzzled, he glanced down at the caller ID, then nearly had a heart attack.

"Vince?"

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

 _I know this face  
It's so familiar  
I'm sure I know you  
But it's all a blur  
Now I can't recall a thing  
It's such a wicked dream_

 _Look at the wake  
From the stardust  
Pouring from your eyes  
It's no mistake  
You are perfect  
You are perfect in my mind  
And you won't fade away_

 _*Stardust – Gemini Syndrome*_

 **Shep's song rating: 11/10. A must listen. One of the best songs I've ever heard.**


	13. The Lighter

**S: A/N: Oops, another crazy long update today. Sorry fellas, just couldn't find anywhere to split it up. Guess you guys get an early present from me. ;)  
**

 **Also, I'm incredibly sick. I missed two consecutive days of school (yesterday and today) because not only am I splitting my head in half by coughing so hard, but I also don't know how many keyboards I'm typing into right now and I don't know which one is the real one. I'm a mess. With that being said, and also due to the fact that Haygood has been a bit busy, there might be a few juvenile grammatical errors I made just because I can't focus enough to point them out. Please pardon the errors if you find any.**

 **Alright, in the midst of sickness, I give you the most chaotic chapter I've written as of yet. I apologize for the delay, but this chapter needed a lot of attention so that I didn't omit any key details. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated.**

 **As another note I failed to mention last chapter, my other partner in writing WhiteWolf is getting married next month. Go ahead and shoot him some congrats; he does read the reviews here and that little bit from you guys would go a long way for him. I'll also take this time to extend my own congratulations as well. I wish both of you all the best.**

 **Take care fellas; I hope to hear from ya soon.**

* * *

 _Tonight my head is spinning  
I need something to pick me up  
I've tried, but nothing is working  
I won't stop, I won't say I've had enough  
Tonight I start the fire  
Tonight I break away_

 _Break away from everybody  
Break away from everything  
If you can't stand the way this place is  
Take yourself to higher places_

 _*Break – Three Days Grace*_

* * *

 **Chapter 13: The Lighter**

* * *

The trip to Papetoon was long and uneventful, considering that it was just a straight shot from Veris to the desert planet. Wolf just laid in his designated quarters, trying to get a bit of shut-eye before he had to fight, but with everything running though his mind it made it hard to. What with Sheila being pregnant, leaving his students in Jona's care—that thought brought a little snicker—and one of his closest friends finally finding himself a woman and wasted little time getting with her. He'd never understand Verian/Cerinian relationships—must have been the telepathy between them. At any rate, the mission in general still had him on edge.

However, one thing that calmed him down was the fact that he had a reliable source in his ear. Just before he took off, he had the privilege of speaking with Vince, who never in a million years he thought he'd have to speak with in these circumstances. As per usual, he brought him up to speed with his happenings before they demanded him to get aboard. Vince stayed planet-side, but with his new Guardian armor he had Vince's eyes along with his. He would guide him along the mission.

Knowing that they were within an hour of atmospheric entry, Wolf stripped himself down to the bare basics before reapplying his newly constructed armor. Albeit lightweight and maneuverable, he felt as though he had an unbreakable shield encompassing his entire frame. To complete his look, he slipped on his custom helmet, poked his ears through the special slits, and slipped his Tactical Display Visor over his violet eyes, making the pigment in them pop as the HUD glowed in activation. Curiosity overtook him as he poked an option on his newly constructed and customized Verian TRCS-16 wrist transmitter, causing miniature plates to form up around his neckline and the bottom of his helmet, interlocking with each other to give him a completely protected mesh-like layer around his neck. That same material wrapped around his muzzle, giving him not only a microphone to speak into, but a mask to breathe in hazardous materials or unfavorable oxygen levels such as Papetoon.

Right as he pulled out the silver case that housed Nathan's ACR, his transmitter started buzzing with an unmistakable caller ID. "O'Donnell…" he said lazily, crossing his arms as he flopped back on his bed.

"Wolf, we need to have a little chat," Commandant Talen said, a little too sternly for the lupine's liking.

Wolf straightened out just a little. "What about? The mission? Take it easy sir, I got it covered."

He could hear Talen snort almost humorously. "That's not what I'm referring to…"

"Then what Commandant?" Wolf said, starting to get impatient.

"You boning your wife in one of the break rooms here at headquarters," Talen said, his tone half-angry and half-humorous.

The sudden gasp of air was Wolf's only response as his cheeks started blazing.

"What? Did you two think I wouldn't find out?" the dragon asked. "It's not like those walls are soundproof."

"Well… it's not like Shelia wanted to wait any longer than she wanted too," Wolf tried to throw a little humor into the situation, although he was extremely embarrassed. "After all, nobody saw us."

"No, but they did hear you, and word around here spreads quickly," Talen paused a moment. "You're employed with us Wolf, and by that you must abide by our rules, as you must know already. You and Shelia are being fined five hundred Prines apiece for public indecency."

"WHAT?!" the lupine exclaimed, bolting up ramrod straight. "What the hell Talen?! I thought Veria's definitions on decency was lenient!"

"They are, but for crying out loud O'Donnell having sex in a public space—despite your efforts to secure the room—isn't decent in the slightest," Talen said with a bit of a scoff.

"What? A break room in a _military_ headquarters qualifies as a public space?" Wolf asked, completely and utterly confused.

"It's not a restricted area, it's general access," Talen explained. "Meaning civilian guests have every reason to be there. The fact you locked the room up so that you and Sheila could get your rocks off denied the civilians' ability to enter a general room."

"Ok… now I feel completely embarrassed…" Wolf said, hanging his head a little. "Does Shelia know?"

"Aye she does… though she had one thing to say about it," Talen's voice was starting to take a more humorous tone.

"And what would that be?"

"She said it was completely worth it," the dragon on the other end laughed, unable to keep his composure. "And that she'd do it again if you two could. Bit of advice though: pick another place… somewhere more private."

Wolf finally let a grin surface, and now it was his turn to tease. "You sound like you've done this before."

"With Serena in the training yard of our wing of the manor every other training session," Talen chuckled in admittance.

"But that's in your home!" Wolf countered. "That doesn't count!"

"True," Talen laughed again, his tone immediately shifting afterwards. "I see you're already suited up. How's the armor?"

"Like a cheap castle," Wolf replied instantly, watching Talen's absolutely confused expression build. Wolf snickered when Talen cocked his head, implying he needed an answer, and deadpanned the rest of his thought. "No ballroom."

Talen let out a mirthful sounding snort and busted into laughter. "That was _not_ the answer I was expecting out of you."

"I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true," Wolf chuckled.

Talen sighed and wiped a tear out of his eye. "Anyways, some of us are meeting in Xiphos' office to watch the address. Good luck on your mission Wolf… Falx out."

And with that, Wolf was left alone in his room with nothing but his thoughts and worries. Deciding he couldn't get any more sleep, he got up, stretched out for a moment, and then made his way up to the small bridge of the transport.

The captain heard him come in and promptly acknowledged him. "Afternoon Commander. I take it you had a nice rest?"

"Considering that we're heading to a planet that's almost on the ass end of the system, and away from my pregnant wife…" Wolf shrugged humorously. "As well as Commandant Falx getting on my ass about an incident in one of the break rooms at HQ… I think my rest was as peaceful as it was going to get."

The somewhat mid-aged Verian nodded, withholding his smirk. "Fair enough. We're about thirty minutes to atmospheric re-entry, but our escort hasn't hailed us yet so we might be flying solo. Our orders were to land, unload, and ensure the cargo's security until the escort team gets there… then wait for you to complete your mission and take you and whatever we need to take back home. Sound clear enough?"

"If everything goes according to plan," the lupine commented under his breath

"If it goes according to plan." the captain echoed with a smile — immediately interrupted by a bridge attendant.

"Cornerian Destroyers! Three of them along with a squadron of fighters, four thousand yards out; they're on an intercept course!"

"Shit…" both Wolf and the captain cursed.

 **\/~~◊~~\/**

"Target in sight, it's a single Mercury-class transport," a Cornerian sensory officer reported. "No escorts."

The destroyer's captain, a tall blue avian with a plume of red and orange feathers surrounding his eyes sighed. "I got to give them this… they're persistent."

"Your orders Captain Lombardi?" another officer asked.

"Close distance and bring us into firing range," Riley commanded tiredly. "Prepare to fire warning shots. We don't have to destroy the ship; just drive it off."

"Aye sir," the first sensory officer sounded off. "Low power tracer rounds warming up."

Riley watched as the Verian transport got closer, sipping his coffee as the hum of the charging weapons increased. "On my ma—"

"Large radiation anomaly detected!" a different officer jumped in. "Something is jumping in!"

Riley cocked his head as a hole seemingly tore open in space, an object resembling a comet popping out and in to view before the rift shut tight.

"What is that? It's huge!" the officer shouted

"That's a lot of dust…" another mumbled.

The dust around the supposed comet started to disperse, revealing the nose of a foreign battleship. As the rest of the dust cloud vanished, the battleship came into full view, although it wasn't just an ordinary ship. It was something far more destructive.

"VERIAN BATTLESHIP! VANGUARD CLASS!" the officer yipped almost as if they were fixing to be fired at.

Coffee immediately shot out of Riley's beak as he lurched forward. "Disengage and back off NOW! Fall back to six thousand yards! We need to get out of its firing range! NOW DAMN IT!"

The helmsman roughly turned the destroyer to try and escape the battleship's range before it could potentially open fire. The two other destroyers in formation followed suit along with the fighters, knowing fully that their Commander wouldn't blatantly disobey a directive without a good reason. With a Vanguard just down the way, it was a good a reason as ever.

"What the fuck is a fucking Vanguard doing here?!" exclaimed one bridge officer.

The helmsman couldn't keep quiet. "They must have deployed it to protect that transport. But… why?"

"I can understand Veria taking our threat seriously," Riley remarked. "What with dispatching a Destroyer group to keep them out, but a Vanguard being sent to protect a transport is overkill… Something isn't right here…"

"Sir, Prime Minister Muzzin on the COMNET," the sensory officer interrupted. "And he's not happy."

"Damn it…" Riley cursed under his breath. "Oh well… Put him on."

After about a moment the Holographic image of Victor Muzzin appeared on the screen in front of the entire bridge. "Yes Minister?"

"Captain, I've been watching you on the IFF display from my office," Muzzin started to scold him, suddenly the Veteran captain started to feel like a hatchling in the principal's office. "You had the transport in sight, did you not? Why did you back off when the second one appeared?"

"Sir, the second ship is a warship," Riley tried explaining. "We're not equipped—"

"How are you not equipped to handle two ships Captain?" Muzzin growled, seemingly oblivious to the situation. "You have three Destroyers and a squadron of fighters. You should be more than a match for them."

"Sir, you don't understand!" Riley snapped back. "The second ship is a Vanguard class battleship! It would kill us before we even remotely got within firing range of either _that_ or the transport."

Muzzin refused to listen. "No, you don't understand Captain. The Verians are encroaching on _MY_ territory, and I want them gone. So what if you have to sacrifice yourselves to take them out? It will be well worth it for your homeland. Your sacrifice and the sacrifice of your soldiers will be rewarded; your families will be well compensated for your losses."

"You can't be serious!" The Captain squawked back.

"As a heart attack," Muzzin replied stoically. "Destroy those Verian ships. That's an order!"

Riley scowled and stood from his chair. "With all due respect _sir_ ," he spat. "I am not engaging those ships. I will not jeopardize the lives of my crew for your petty vendetta."

"You son of a bitch!" Muzzin snarled.

"These are _MY_ ships, _MY_ crews and pilots, and _MY_ decision. So, minister, I believe I can speak for the rest of my crew and myself by telling you to go kindly fuck yourself."

Without losing any momentum, Riley subconsciously shot his middle digit at the now enraged red wolf as he gestured sharply to the lead comms officer.

"Lombardi OUT!"

"YOU FUCKING TRAT—" was all Muzzin was allowed to say before the feed was cut.

The entire bridge crew looked at their captain like he'd just lost his mind, but they know why he did it.

"Your orders sir?"

"Contact the PSDF Space Command… ask if they have a few more slots for ships in their fleet," the avian answered sternly. "I refuse to serve under a man that willingly treats his soldiers like they're expendable."

Riley gently walked over to another attendant and placed a wing over his shoulder. "Send a message to Chief of Staff Jaeger on the secure frequency, tell him what happened and what we intend to do. He deserves to know."

"Aye sir."

"And," the avian sighed, glancing out into space. "Send my son Falco a message too. Tell him… Tell him I'm sorry."

The crews of the three ships just watched the transport descend to the dust ball planet as the Vanguard took an over-watching position, ensuring its safe descent.

"I just hope it's worth it."

 **\/~~◊~~\/**

Half an hour after the transport touched down on solid Papetoonian tarmac, the dock crews started to unload the transport of its cargo of minerals, machine parts, and sensitive electronics for their water producing resources. Luckily it wasn't anything harmful; it was just the same trip and the same cargo the transport delivered every other week. There were hundreds of crates loaded on the transport, and it took nearly twenty Verian workers to begin the unloading process.

Already suited up in his guardian armor, complete with a collapsible shield strapped to his forearm and his kinetic ACR, Wolf started to gather whatever equipment he decided to take along with him until he started hearing a commotion outside. The moment he stepped though the hatch he saw why it was so loud.

About six or seven customs agents were harassing the dock workers and the transport's captain, giving one a violent shove and telling him that they were there illegally. The captain and the workers stood their ground, but it did look like they were frightened. When a worker decided to be courageous and attempt a step forward, rifles were raised and pushed into their faces. It was apparent that the soldiers were itching for blood.

 _Seriously?_ Wolf thought to himself with a scowl. _This is what Corneria has been reduced to sending? A bunch of thugs?_

Wolf attempted to stand in between the soldiers and the dock workers, only to get his own rifle thrusted into his face while another prodded the back of his armored skull.

"Don't you fucking move!" the soldier snarled at him.

"You're not supposed to be here lizard," a different CDF officer sneered. "Under orders of Prime Minister Muzzin, all cargo from the Verian Kingdom is to be confiscated and destroyed!" He poked his rifle at a crate marked with the Royal Crest. _Sara's medicine_.

"We'll start with this one!" he kicked the crate gently, making sure not to make an inadvertent mess of its contents. And if his luck could have gotten any worse, the officer turned his gaze towards Wolf and let a nasty scowl surface. "And _you_ , William O'Donnell, are under arrest!"

"Who the hell are you taking about?" Wolf questioned harshly.

"Don't you play games with me you traitorous piece of sc—"

The officer suddenly had his head yanked backward by some divine force, and much to Wolf's disgust and surprise a gash seemed to rip open right across his throat on its own accord, spurting blood everywhere. As his lifeless body fell over, another soldier guarding the captives was knocked off his feet by yet another invisible force, screaming loudly as his chest ripped open, almost making it seem like something was exploding out of him.

One by the supposed confiscated cargo took a nasty shot to the head, knocking his helmet clear across the hangar and putting him on the ground, but before he could get up he saw a targeting laser mark between his eyes and just froze in defeat. If that wasn't enough, the soldier that had Wolf at rifle point turned his head for a brief second to see what was going on, only to have a precision laser bolt enter the back of his head and out between his eyes. Wolf hit the deck to avoid the barrage of bolts the now dead soldier fired as his lifeless corpse collapsed to the floor. The other agents wisely dropped their weapons and surrendered to the unseen assailants.

"You alright?" a voice seemed to pop out of nowhere up by the catwalk.

"I'm… okay…" Wolf said hesitantly. Before he could continue, another disembodied voice laughed from in front of him and started speaking.

"Not even planet-side ten minutes and I'm already saving your hide, brother."

"The hell…" was Wolf's only reply.

"You mean— Oh. We're secure guys, drop 'em," the voice ordered — the air in three places distorting as three armored soldiers seemingly materialized from out of thin air. Customized helmets adorned their heads to accommodate their ears, even though they too were covered by what seemed like combat mesh, and their faces were covered by that same mesh, only each was designed with the skeletal representation of each of their sub species — A lupine, feline and a canine of some sort respectfully. Their eyes were covered with visors that each sported a tactical display, each one modified to each one's liking. The wolf held a bloodied knife in his hand, along with pistol on his leg and rifle slung on his back, while the feline had a pistol in one hand a blooded jagged knife in the other — the knife hand crossing under the gun-hand as if to steady it in a lowered ready posture. The canine towards the back had a modified assault rifle, smoke still pouring from the tip.

The lupine seemed to take the leadership role as he removed his mask and pushed his visor up, giving Wolf a near splitting image of himself as if he were looking into a mirror, minus the eye color.

"Lieutenant William O'Donnell; PSDF special operations team Crimson Ghosts," he said, starting to get a chuckle at Wolf's face. "It's finally good to see you again Wolf."

"What?" Wolf uttered dreamily.

"That's Katt and Dingo." William continued, gesturing to the two soldiers on either side of them, who just nodded in response. "And the lass that just saved your hairy ass is Laura."

"W-Will?" Wolf said in a seemingly drunken stupor of shock. "Is… it really you?"

William nodded with a wide smile plastered onto his muzzle. "The one and only."

"Am I dead?" Wolf uttered in confusion, unknowingly he rattled off something that William use to say anytime Wolf thrashed him when they roughhoused way back in the day.

Quoting Wolf, William shifted his stance and gave him a smug smile. "No, but you are on my turf now. If I were you… I'd watch your step."

Wolf removed the VGC helmet from his head and tossed it onto his duffle bag, then immediately lunged forward and hugged the other wolf in such a joy filled way that Katt couldn't help but grin. "I thought I'd never get to see you again."

"As did I," William responded, returning the embrace. "It's been a very long time."

"Eleven years if I remember correctly," Wolf sighed. "Damn… it's been way too long."

"Tell me about it," the other wolf snickered, but stopped when he started hearing sirens from outside. Pulling his rifle to its proper stance, he gestured to Wolf and pointed at the exit.

"Only, not right now. We'll talk when we get back to my place. King Xiphos has some big plans for us, and most of them require you stay alive long enough. Let's go."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Muzzin's haphazard and spontaneous attempt at organizing a planet-wide, and moreover, a system-wide political address didn't turn out the way he had first imagined it in his head, but not in a negative way.

Only five hours into the setup—three hours away from when he and his fellow politicians had to take the stage and address the current chaos developing over the past couple weeks—and there were already millions of people crowding the recently reconstructed Winston Square, right in the heart of downtown Corneria City.

The red wolf never expected such a turnout less than forty-eight hours after his first declaration that the address would even take place. However, with the incredible turnout called for increased protection. Muzzin made it a personal point to call every single protection agency and security bureau within a one-hundred kilometer radius and personally saw that they were in the city square to keep unwanted trouble at bay. Every single licensed and active Cornerian Defense Force officer still base-side was forced into overtime without pay to guard Muzzin's distinct perimeter. Much to the officers' discontent, it was orders.

It was also a miracle on how they managed to convert Winston Square Park into a venue for a political "debate" in such a shortened time constraint. They had construction workers slave overnight (again, without pay) to make sure the stage and systems were in optimal condition. The had to carve out a distinct area for the audience to comfortably stand, so in order to accomplish this goal they had to reroute major streets that crisscrossed in and around the park block, causing horrendous traffic jams and catastrophic delays.

As another precaution made by the minister, the surrounding two city blocks—all lined with skyscrapers that easily exceeded two-hundred stories each—were completely swarmed by the CDF officers "hired" for Muzzin's safety measures. There were five or six soldiers on each rooftop with Cornerian Tactical Marksman's Rifles, all positioned to get a three-hundred and sixty degree view of the surrounding area just in case something were to happen. If it was Muzzin's job to see that the area was safeguarded from potential attack, he sure did a damn good job at enforcing it.

Muzzin specifically reserved a major highway that knifed through Downtown Corneria City and wound all the way through to the Cornerian Defense Force Headquarters—more specifically the main docking bay—just to see that incoming diplomats had the safest and fastest route to the Square. Again, that added to already awful traffic, but in this current moment he didn't care. He just wanted this address to go off without a hitch, and so far it was working.

Speaking of the red wolf, he was the main center of attention. Normally he would be happy that he was getting swarmed by reporters, but this instance was an exception. He hid behind his personal burly security guards every opportunity he got, dodging reporters in the process. He finally made it away from the sea of reporters into backstage where the diplomats were staying and relaxing before the crazy day could finally simmer down.

He thanked his guards and slipped away from their protection, and after a quick look around the haphazardly constructed safe-zone he saw a familiar face curled up in the corner, twiddling his clawed thumbs nervously. Despite holding ill feelings towards the copper husky years prior, he still shoved them to the darkest regions of his mind and trudged forward to greet him personally.

"So glad you could make it Lance," Muzzin spoke up suddenly, noticeably startling the dark copper husky. Senator Enroth let out a nervous chuckle and shook his paw after standing up.

"I'm glad to be here," Enroth said with a forced grin. "Not very often does one take part in something of this caliber. I wouldn't miss this address for the world."

Muzzin smiled and licked his chops. "Great to hear, my friend. It's just great to see you in person once more. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"I do believe so," he answered. "My apologies. Time just got away from me."

"You're telling me," the red wolf grunted. "I can hardly keep up with my day-to-day duties, let alone see to every single detail scattered around the LHC's area. You're very lucky that this address is happening right now."

"So I can see," the husky chuckled. "Maybe organizing this so soon was a mistake?"

Muzzin shook his head. "I needed to take care of these manners immediately. The sooner we get this tension settled, the better off our people will be. I assume you know this fact very well, Senator?"

Muzzin unknowingly tipped a wire in the husky's head, but only by pure luck did something else catch the two politician's eyes before Enroth had time to cave the wolf's muzzle in. Off to the left of backstage where most, if not all of the politicians entered in were two heavily armed security guards bearing the emblem of Papetoon's Self Defense Force, along with the unmistakable form of Senator Travis Monroe. The entire backstage fell silent in shock, as Monroe was not expected to join in on the fun. Muzzin excused himself from Enroth's presence and immediately approached the sandy brown feline.

"Travis," the red wolf practically spat out. "I thought you didn't want to attend."

"I had my second thoughts," he replied stoically, following his guards further into the structure. "Figured I wouldn't want to miss a personal apology."

"Who says I was going to apologize?" Muzzin retorted, crossing his arms. "You know good and well that I am doing everything in my power to ensure my people's safety, and keeping the Verians off of my turf is the only way I can assure that. The fact that you are authorizing fire on my transports is jeopardizing my people's safety."

"And refusing to set up trade routes or letting the Verians supply us is how you're going to accomplish that?" Monroe questioned right back. "I don't see the logic behind that."

Muzzin refrained from getting too angry with the feline's security guards on either side of him, and with the other diplomats and reporters watching. "Look, Travis, I know this is tough for you to understand, but what I am doing is for the greater good of peace. I'm afraid for my people."

"No, I don't believe that for a second," Monroe interrupted, himself crossing his arms in a huff. "If you cared for your people you would be able to see that what the Verians are doing is their attempt to help us. They realize we're in a rough state and they're trying to help us back on our feet."

"I don't need their help to rebuild," Muzzin replied, a little perturbed at what was said to him. "I can do it myself, starting with reuniting our people. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some last minute plans to write up for this address."

The red wolf immediately walked away without so much as a goodbye or a handshake. Glaring at the minister with a look that could curdle blood, Monroe slowly walked away from where he was standing and right up to the copper husky, finally showing signs of genuine happiness—albeit small—by shaking the fellow Senator's paw.

"I'm sorry Travis," Enroth immediately said after clasping the feline's paw. "I know what you're going through."

"I know, but you had it worse years ago," Monroe admitted. "I can't believe you can still put up with him."

"I try," Enroth grunted. "It's a thick mask I put on to keep him on my good side. If he was pissed with me, I'd lose my entire colony because of lack of trading routes. I can't afford something like this."

"I know Lance, I know," the feline sighed. "We can't win with him."

"Unfortunately, you're right," the husky added, staring at the floor.

"Hey, just stay strong, okay?" Monroe asked, a grin creasing his muzzle. "We'll get through this. It may take a while, but just hold tight. Keep doing what you're doing and you'll be okay."

"Thank you Travis," the copper husky smiled, clutching the feline's paw and pulling him in for a friendly, informal embrace. "You stay strong on your end too, m'kay?"

"I will," the feline sighed gently. "Take care my friend."

"You as well," Lance said before the desert cat's guards escorted him to a more suitable place. The husky Senator proceeded to wander around the sprawling backstage area of the address stage before finding a familiar face chatting with another familiar female soldier. Smiling, he took step after short step so that he wouldn't accidently intrude on their conversation, but in the meantime he could hear what the couple was discussing.

"I know, DJ, I'm worried too," Kyle said softly, cradling her paws in his own. DJ evidently had tears in her eyes, as well as wet streaks down her black furred cheeks.

"I don't want to be away from you and Liz this long, especially if I don't come back," DJ nearly sobbed. "I don't want to do this Kyle."

"It'll just be a patrol around District Echo," Kyle said reassuringly. "It'll be quick and go without a hitch. You'll be back home in no time."

"Kyle, that district is way too close to Veris, and you know it," she argued, folding her ears back. "It's too risky."

"I can't get anyone to take your place Dana," the husky hybrid explained. "Muzzin can't get anyone else to command the _Horizon_ , and you're the only one qualified that can. You're all we have."

"Kyle, I'm not leaving you," the shepherd argued, tightening her hold on the hybrid's arms. "I'm staying here."

"We had this discussion before," he reminded a little impatiently. "If you don't do what they tell you to, you'll get fired, or worse — they could arrest you, and I would have no say in whether or not you get out or not. Going on this patrol it the best thing you can do."

"But what about Liz?"

"I can take care of her for you," Kyle smiled. "It's no different than you getting deployed to South Peak or Hartside on the other side of the planet. That was three entire months, and this is a simple patrol that will take two days at most. We can survive without you for a few days."

DJ sighed and nodded slightly. "Okay… fine. I'll go."

Kyle grinned back and pecked her nose with his. "Thank you my sweet. I'll personally see you get a top notch crew to keep you company and safe, probably whoever's left from the old _Leah_ team."

That little remark seemed to bump up her spirits quite a bit. She finally let out a genuine smile and forced the wolf-dog in for a quick kiss before speaking again.

"Thanks hon," she cooed, pecking him on the muzzle once more. "Good luck on your speech today."

Kyle gave her one last hug, kiss, and goodbye before she trotted off to her designated position. Once the hybrid calmed down, Enroth approached him hesitantly, chuckling nervously to lighten the mood.

"Secretary Reeves," he said warmly, grasping the much larger, yet leaner hybrid's paw. "It's great to see you again."

"Likewise," he said distantly, taking a seat on a nearby bench. "Just sucks that it's on these circumstances."

"It is rather unfortunate," the copper husky agreed. "But, it is for the better. It's better to address the situation now before it escalates any further."

"There's no hope for any of this," Kyle said frankly, crossing his legs. "Truth be told, Muzzin has fucked everything up so bad, and only now is he trying to fix everything. He's already done enough damage in power, and he's too late to try and patch up all of the holes he's made during his tenure."

"We'll do what we can Kyle," Enroth nodded. "I'll do what I can to help."

Kyle smirked with half of his muzzle and stood up, again clutching the husky's paw in a firm handshake. "That's very appreciated Lance," he said thoughtfully. "Very reassuring coming from you. I must be going, but first, I wish you all the best."

"You as well," the copper husky said before the hybrid walked off to chat with another diplomat. Again, Enroth was left alone to wander around backstage, ducking away from reporters whenever he could. Eventually, he knifed through the crowd so that he could stand face to face with Corneria's General.

"Yes, I know of the commotion over Papetoon," he said tiredly, rubbing above his eyes as he spoke into a reporter's microphone. "This isn't the first time this has happened, what with a refusal to follow distinct orders. I understand the severity of this incident, but all we can do right now is wait until a credible report comes to my attention. I cannot promise anything until then."

"What is your take on Papetoon's attempted independence?" the reporter asked, thrusting the microphone into the wolf-dog's muzzle once more.

Wes gave a particularly humorous look to the reporter, conveying his sheer reluctance to even listen to the topic. "I don't know. Really, I don't. I'm not worried about it right now. We have an address to make, and I'll touch up on that topic then, alright?"

The reporter backed away, but was immediately replaced with another reporter from a different station. Before the other reporter could open his muzzle, Wes excused himself and exited the massive sea of people in an escape for a less crowded safe-zone. Enroth waved his paw to grab his attention, to which he smiled and approached immediately.

"So glad you could make it Lance," Wes commented, shaking his paw firmly.

"I'm glad I got the opportunity to attend," Enroth grinned back. "It's great to be back on the mainland."

"Are you going to be speaking today?" the general asked.

"Depends on if Muzzin gave me a time slot or not," he chuckled. "Knowing him he'll take up everyone's time."

Wes exhaled and nodded his head, knowing that fact all too well. "I'll see that you get an opportunity to speak your mind. You deserve a voice. Muzzin needs to hear another side of the story."

"Thank you General," the husky nodded. "I look forward to hearing your address."

"As am I my friend," Wes said confidently. "I have some very important information you will not want to miss."

Enroth thanked General Jaeger for his time and said one last goodbye before finding his previous secluded spot away from all of the commotion and the highly ranked diplomats, sitting in a rather comfortable chair against the far back wall. He took a quick glance in all directions around him to look and see if he was being watched, then once he found out that the coast was clear he raised his right paw and stuck two fingers into his corresponding ear, activating a device hidden away from plain sight. He spoke into a hidden microphone in such a quiet and secretive manner that it was a wonder if the people on the other line could hear him.

"Alright, Crossfire Delta, you are clear to engage."

 **\/~~◊~~\/**

"Understood, Senator," Skae replied firmly. "We're about ten minutes from optimal setup."

She had to speak loudly over the clattering of the rest of her team's equipment and the suspension of their armored truck bouncing along the highway. A team of twelve soldiers: herself, Joel, Erik, Ramsay, Charlie, and seven other Fichinian soldiers crowded the inside of the truck, even with two up front driving and sitting shotgun respectively. Other than the clattering, the truck was dead silent.

Everyone found themselves wearing the same outfit, modeled after an urban Cornerian task force ensemble consisting of a thick black bullet and laser proof combat vest, a pair of cargo khaki pants loaded with equipment and ammunition, as well as thick black elbow and knee pads. The four humans had thin masks to cover their mouths while the Fichinians didn't, but everyone had a matching black baseball cap that was stitched with a white marksman's reticle—signifying their affiliation with the Cornerian Covert Ops branch. Everyone also had a bluetooth connection with each other's earpiece and microphone so that they could keep in contact when they decided to split.

The time it took to get into their position didn't take as long as they first thought. Turns out hijacking a heavily armored bank truck bound for the First Cornerian National Bank tower—literally a few city blocks away from Winston Square—was much easier than assumed. Without drawing needed attention, they forcefully removed the six armed Cornerians from the truck, and after a few adjustments consisting of killing the "SOS" signal before it reached HQ and loading up the equipment designated for their operation, they were on the road.

Joel fiddled around with his customized UMP sub-machine gun—complete with a comfortable foregrip and hybrid thermal scope much like his M4A1—for what felt like a half an hour before Skae stood up, staggered her way through the interior of the truck, and right up to the driver.

"Remember, we need to go in through the back of Nexus Industries," Skae said, placing her paw over the driver's shoulder. "They have a network of tunnels that can get us to Dynamics and Corneria National to triangulate our operation."

"Understood," he replied, turning off of the major highway. "We're five out. If you're having 'ol furless back there kill the sats, tell him now."

Skae obliged and fought her way back to the seat directly adjacent to Joel, then turned her gaze to Charlie. "Bray says to kill 'em now. Do your thing."

Charlie grinned and opened his laptop, syncing the antenna on the top to the frequency he researched up on. While his typing filled the hold, Skae's attention was directed to a Fichinian soldier a few seats back that looked to be clutching at his head.

"Spencer? You fine?"

The Siberian tiger soldier next to the exceptionally large arctic fox grunted in disapproval. "He's had a rough couple of days."

"What's wrong with him?"

"Probably some kind of PTSD or something," he explained. "He's had it rough since the assault on Cerinia."

The vulpine Spencer suddenly jerked his head back, slamming it against the wall of the truck. "I can still hear her!" he yipped, groaning loudly and agonizingly. "She won't get out of my head!"

The tiger shook his head in evident guilt. "We pressured him into screwing a vixen over there as an initiation rite, since he's a newbie after all. Dude couldn't bring himself to put her out of her misery, and now he's regretting it."

"You're on a team with Frost, right?" Skae asked the tiger.

"Yeah, he, Vik, Ramsay and I are going to Dynamics," he explained, to which the dark skinned soldier smiled in recognition.

"Don't worry about us, Skae," Ramsay assured. "We've got everything figured out."

"Good," Skae smiled, turning her gaze to Erik who was busy polishing his rifle. "And you've got your team figured out?"

"Yeah, I'm stuck with three of you furries," he remarked under his breath.

"Charming," A female pure white wolf next to Erik giggled. "If you're flirting with us just say it."

Erik about gagged and un-holstered his handgun, cleaning the barrel as the four females in the truck erupted into laughter.

"And Joel, Charlie, Bray, and I got Nexus… and the big prize," Skae smirked, crossing her legs. "Anyone else need a rundown of the plan?"

Skae took the ensuing silence as a yes and awaited for the truck to come to a stop. Eventually it did, but when the doors didn't unlock and when she heard the driver Bray speaking out of the window, they realized they must've hit a checkpoint.

"Muzzin called in extra support around Nexus," Bray explained.

"Authorization?" the guard on the other side of the truck questioned firmly.

"Joel!" Bray barked. "Get out here and show him the _papers_."

Shrugging his shoulders, Joel regained a proper hold of his UMP and stood up, opening the back doors to the truck and walking around to the driver side door. There were three heavily armed Cornerian soldiers, each one wearing a helmet with a visor and a vest much like his own.

As he approached, he saw Bray's white vulpine ears twitch, one folding towards the soldier by the window and one folded back. Joel caught his message and wasted no time in opening fire, one shot blowing through the closest soldier's neck and two others downing the furthest back. The one remaining tried to assume a proper stance but suddenly found a laser between his eyes courtesy of Bray's handgun. Once the commotion died down, the Fichinian in the passenger seat slipped out and helped Joel stuff the lifeless canines in a secure and secluded spot. The Lieutenant didn't bother getting back into the hold of the armored vehicle and just grabbed on to the railing by Bray's seat.

"Good shit," he said, pulling through into the underground parking lot. "Our stop is first. I'll pull around to the doors and we'll group there."

Joel nodded in approval, letting the roaring echo of the truck tires in the dimly lit parking garage fill his ears. It wasn't long before they found their stop, to which the tall and stocky white fox behind the wheel pulled up to and stopped. As soon as the parking brake was locked in, the doors busted open with all nine soldiers primed and ready for the mission.

They didn't bother regrouping by the building as they immediately split up into their respective teams, casually walking towards their intended destination and acting like the Cornerian guards their outfits were modeled after to try and divert any unneeded attention away from them when it came time to strike. Skae stood by the white iron and glass doors leading into Nexus Industries and waited for Charlie and Joel to regroup next to her.

"Alright, Joel and I will hit the roof," the huntress explained. "That's our target. Bray, you go with Charlie and help him kill comms in the area."

The rather husky Fichinian vulpine nodded and removed a heavy bag off of his shoulders. "Here, Joel, take this."

"Oh, thanks," he said, slinging the same bag over his back like a set of golf clubs. "Almost forgot about the toy."

Bray smirked smugly and nudged the other human with all of the technological gear draped over him as if he was a robot. "Alright furless, let's do our thing."

Charlie's expression dropped slightly but still spun to follow the stocky vulpine down an intersecting corridor. Joel reached out and grabbed his shoulder before he got too far away, stopping him briefly.

"Stay safe Charlie," he said thoughtfully, patting his shoulder twice in reassurance. "I can't lose you too."

"Don't worry about me," Charlie smirked. "I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you."

Joel shrugged his head and retracted his arm.

"Good luck."

The lieutenant nodded and watched Charlie pick up his pace to follow Bray down the hall. He changed his gaze to the she-wolf, gave a nod of approval, and then primed their weapons before running down the long hallway.

Charlie rushed up behind Bray, who had stopped at the intersection with his tail pressed against the wall. He lined up alongside the Fichinian and poked his head around his shoulder, seeing a group of about six armed Cornerian guards apparently taking a break.

"Alright, I got a plan," Bray whispered. "I'll keep 'em occupied; the comms room is right over there so you can slip in. Follow my lead."

Bray strapped his sub-machine gun on his back and popped off the wall. After brushing his uniform off, he walked forward into the view of the soldiers with a firm stance and an even firmer expression. Charlie attempted to mimic his expression, but he just couldn't assume that stoic and authoritative stance the husky militiaman had.

"Alright fellas, break's over," Bray barked, getting the attention of all six soldiers. "Silent alarm was just tripped on the fifth floor. Get to it."

"Silent alarm?" a female vixen questioned, cocking her large ears. "We never got anything."

"That's because whoever is in here is screwing with the comms," Bray countered, pointing at Charlie and then the supposed communications room. "Do your thing bud, they've got it covered."

Charlie nodded and pushed forward towards the room but was stopped by a near six foot German shepherd. "Whoa, hold on, who the hell are you?"

"Paws off my soldier, sergeant!" Bray snapped, intervening between the Cornerian and the human by forcefully pushing his arm back. The shepherd growled and brought his weapon up to a proper stance.

"Identify yourself!" he barked, nearly thrusting the rifle into Bray's skull.

Bray, in response, grabbed the barrel of the weapon, forced it backwards into the shepherd's muzzle, and launched a nasty boot right into his stomach. Immediately afterward, he threw the weapon like a baseball swing at the canine next in line, instantly knocking him unconscious and down to the floor. The other four reached for their weapons that were sitting on the table, but Charlie had already thought ahead, activating a special jammer that interfered with the energy readings in laser weaponry. They all attempted to open fire at the tandem, but were shocked and confused when all they got were clicks of failed firing.

"On the ground, now!" Bray snarled, pointing his kinetic sub-machine gun at the helpless soldiers. To add to his act, Bray fired a single shot at the roof, showing them that his weapon worked unlike theirs. Unable to fight back, they fell to their knees with their paws over their head in defeat. Charlie took the initiative by grabbing what gear he put down and slipping into the communications room, ready to do some major damage.

Meanwhile, on the way to the First Cornerian National Bank tower, Erik's blood was boiling as a result of being stuck with an all-female team.

Although they had a major role in the operation, they were overlooked due to their uniforms and equipment by the civilians, assuming they were just part of Muzzin's over-budgeted protection team. As a matter of fact, they were able to get to the elevator without any issues whatsoever, and were stuck in a ten by ten room slowly ascending over one hundred floors to the roof of the building.

Erik wedged himself into the corner of the elevator by the buttons while the other three huntresses stared at him, giggling slightly. The tallest one looked like Skae, only with short hair and a narrower muzzle. The other two were almost identical looking foxes, one with blue eyes and the other with light brown. Erik eventually got impatient with the anthropomorphic creatures staring at him and sighed loudly.

"What?"

The arctic vixen with the light brown eyes smiled and swayed her hips and tail. "Oh, uh, it's nothing."

"I'm not falling for that," Erik said stoically. "What do you want?"

"Just spill it Alyssa," the tallest of the three blurted out.

"No!" the brown eyed vixen retorted.

"Then I will," the other fox spoke up. "Alyssa says she likes you."

Erik scoffed as the brown eyed fox started blushing. "So what? She can dream, can't she?"

The human took the silence that ensued as a yes, then shifted his stance so he could lean up against the wall. "All three of you freak me the fuck out."

The tallest Fichinian gave him a particularly nasty scowl, but immediately stopped in her tracks and flushed whiter than her fur when the elevator door opened. Erik turned around to glance out, but the vulpine Alyssa forcefully grabbed his mouth and pushed his face back with more force than he would have expected out of such a small creature.

"Have you heard from Rahal's team?" a soldier perched on the roof's voice became audible to the group. Erik wanted to groan out in discomfort as he felt the humanlike paw pushed into his mouth to keep him silent, but decided against it when he peered out and saw eight different Cornerian soldiers scattered about, along with one distinct armed human soldier.

"He's in the clear," a commanding officer, a gray furred stocky feline sounded off.

"Wallace, go check the damn elevator," a lean and lanky raven squawked. "I thought you restricted access."

"I did," the feline Wallace growled back.

"Follow my lead," the tallest Fichinian huntress whispered, slinging her rifle onto her back. "Erik, cover that ugly face of yours."

Alyssa released her paw to allow Erik to sputter silently before pushing the mask over his mouth and nose. The tallest huntress nodded and stepped out into the sunlight, followed by the two identical vulpines and then Erik.

"At ease," the huntress barked, trying her best to put on a believable act. "What is going on here?"

"Who the hell are you?" Wallace snapped, clutching his rifle longingly.

"I happen to be Major Sarah Estelle, thank you very much," she snapped back, flashing a counterfeit badge fast enough for the feline to see it but not process its forgery. "Now, all of you, in formation, now!"

The eight Cornerians tentatively lined up in a straight line towards the center of the rooftop, but it was apparent that they were very suspicious with the team that had just intruded on them. However, the human wasn't about to fall for their blatantly obvious act to him.

"Major Estelle?" the human said with an apparent disbelief, stepping down from his perch on top of the air conditioning unit. "I don't believe that for a second. You've got less than ten seconds to properly identify yourself or my team and I have orders to put down any threat."

Erik's heart practically stopped at the blatantly obvious tone of voice, combined with the unruly dark hair and steel blue eyes. It was him.

"Will?" Erik blurted out aloud.

He wasn't the only one to go through a major mind-fuck.

"ERIK?!" bellowed the human soldier Will Hawkins, inadvertently starting the chaos.

The blue eyed vixen instinctively pulled the pin on a specially crafted electronic disruptor grenade, throwing it against the ground with a loud crash and ear-splitting hiss. With the Cornerians' weapons dysfunctional, Erik and the three females opened fire with their kinetics and mowed down at least five of the soldiers. What they weren't expecting, however, was Will to be equipped with his own kinetic rifle, and attempted to return fire.

Erik didn't realize Will's weapon worked until it was almost too late, but before Will could take his head off the vulpine Alyssa practically tackled him behind a makeshift barricade. The bullets twanged off of their white iron cover, showering weak sparks over them. Unfortunately, the other vulpine wasn't so lucky and was thrown to her back in a heap when multiple projectiles ripped through her.

When the gunfire briefly stopped, Will shouted at Wallace, throwing a handgun slung to his leg at him and ordering him to cover him. For the next few minutes, the two groups exchanged gunfire with none of them finding their intended mark.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Will shouted loudly, replacing a spent magazine.

Erik did not reply with words, but with gunfire, showering sparks onto the other human. One of the tallest huntresses' bullets grazed Wallace's arm, getting him to fall back under cover again.

"Erik, STOP!" Will bellowed again. "I don't want to do this!"

"Then stand down you traitorous son of a bitch!" Erik barked at him, firing a few shots into the metal barricade.

"Erik, knock it off!" he again pleaded, not poking his head up. Erik shifted his cover, managing to get into the right positioning for the large feline, then after a few shots he managed to put him down in a heap.

Will growled in response and tossed his empty rifle onto the ground. Before Erik had a chance to defend, Will catapulted himself over the barricade and forced Erik to the ground. In one fluid motion, he rolled over his shoulders and sprang to his feet, immediately grabbing the carbine held by Alyssa. He ripped it out of her hands, jabbed the stock into her stomach, and then used that same stock to smack the tall huntresses' rifle out of her hands. Without losing momentum, he kicked the fallen gun halfway across the roof, threw the carbine farther away, then effortlessly tossed the doubled-over vixen into the other one — their bodies twisting together in a heap.

Erik by then had gotten back to his feet, and after he saw the two huntresses get tossed aside like toys he wrapped his burly arm around Will's neck and applied pressure. Will gasped and clawed at his arm, but couldn't muster enough strength to break the brute force being applied to his windpipes.

"Erik… please…" Will sputtered, desperately trying to get out.

"I warned you," Erik deadpanned. "I'm sorry, but this is for the good of the mis— _oof_."

Will, instead of clawing at his arm, delivered a nasty elbow to Erik's chest, causing him to double over slightly and let up some pressure. While Erik was slightly dazed, Hawkins kept his hold on the other human and ran forward, using his extreme athleticism and momentum to his advantage by running up the wall of the elevator, flipping over Erik's shoulders and landing behind him. Without even thinking, Will gave him a hard boot into his lower back, forcing him into the elevator doors.

"Why are you doing this Erik?" Will questioned, panting from exertion.

Erik recovered from slamming his face into the doors and assumed his fighting stance. "I'm doing this for our people. Do you not care about them?"

"By what? How do you plan to help them when you're out here?"

"We're taking down the idiot that caused all of this hell," Erik retorted. "We're avenging our loved ones that were killed by those animals back home."

"Erik, you don't understand, they weren't at fault here," Will said sternly. "Nobody was."

"So you're expecting me to believe all of this shit is based on an _accident_?" Erik nearly snarled, taking a short step towards Will. "All of those innocent people died in vain?"

"Erik, listen to me," Will ordered calmly. "The Cornerians didn't know, just like we didn't know we accidently destroyed their city. They were just following orders…"

The large human refused to listen, taking yet another step.

"I have a family here Erik," Will commented. "Please don't do this… don't split us up just because of your vendetta."

"You shouldn't even be with one of those animals," Erik growled at him, tripping Will's hidden wire. He instinctively raised his other concealed handgun and straight-armed it right at the other human.

"You shut your mouth," he scowled. "I love my Cornerian wife, and if you don't like that I have no problem putting you down. We used to be buds, Erik, but if you're going to storm in here and try to destroy my family because you want your revenge… I'm sorry, but I have no choi—"

Unaware of his surroundings, Alyssa had grabbed a piece of the railing that had been blown off by the exchange of gunfire, and swung it at the side of Will's head with the force and form of a baseball swing. With a heavy thud, Will's unconscious body fell flat on his stomach without another word or move.

Erik smirked at the small arctic vulpine. "Thanks. I really thought he'd shoot me if you didn't intervene."

Alyssa smiled back and swayed her hips and tail. "It was my pleasure."

Before Erik could voice any displeasure, the tall lupine huntress forced a long, bolt-action rifle into his chest. "Alright, enough flirting. Do your thing big guy."

Erik sighed and readjusted his grip on the rifle in a way so that he could grab the radio in his jacket pocket. "Joel, Rammy; we're clear. How you guys holding up?"

Ramsay's voice came back first, obviously in a state of anger. "The Dynamics' elevator is shot. We've got to fight through a shit-ton of stairs. Bear with us, we'll be up as soon as we can.

Ramsay led his group, followed by the large Siberian tiger, a pure white fluffy collie, and the emotional mess that was Spencer Frost. He stood in the back, nervously fidgeting with his carbine as he followed the human and his squadron members down the hall towards yet another set of access stairs.

 _"I can still hear her. Her telepathy. It… won't… go… away…"_

Spencer grabbed his temple, hoping the pressure would alleviate the intensity of the voice in his head, but much to his dismay it only made it worse.

 _Why did you do it?_

Spencer cringed. It wasn't his fault. He refused to believe it was his fault.

 _Do you always do what your so-called friends tell you to do?_

No. That wasn't him. It was only a ritual. He was a new guy. He still had yet to do his initiation into the militia. They decided a good enough ritual would consist of forcing himself onto a Cerinian vixen during the attack. It was what all of the others did. They didn't seem to have any distress. How could it have been so bad?

 _Why didn't you just kill me when you had the chance?_

A soft whimper left Spencer's muzzle, falling on deaf ears from the rest of his squadron.

 _You know what is right. Yet you do what is wrong. Does that make sense?_

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Spencer screamed at the top of his lungs, dropping his rifle and staggering into the nearby wall. This time his squadron halted as the vulpine was reduced to folding himself up as he slid down the wall.

"Spencer, get a hold of yourself," Ramsay ordered. "If you can't stay with us just go back to the truck. You're slowing us down."

 _They aren't your friends. Real friends would not force you to do wrong._

Spencer started crying as the collie Vik crouched down and approached him.

"Spence, buddy, calm down," he assured. "You're okay. You're gonna be okay."

"She won't leave me alone," Spencer sobbed.

 _They will only use you like you used me._

Vik started patting his shoulder reassuringly. "Just focus. We can't do this without you."

Spencer reluctantly nodded, standing up off the wall but still refusing to let go of his skull.

 _They are the enemy._

The thin vulpine gingerly lifted his carbine off the ground, reassuming his proper stance as the rest of his team moved forward.

 _You hate the enemy._

Spencer's hands tightened up.

 _Do what you know is right._

The vulpine snapped in half, tightening his trigger as bullets spewed from his gun without bound. Only the Siberian tiger was able to react in time, dodging to the left and hiding behind a wall as bullets ripped through both Vik and Ramsay. The entire time, Spencer screamed like a madman, watching the two now lifeless corpses fall to the ground at his paws. In one fluid motion after his gun had been spent, he threw it into the already accumulating sea of blood and bolted from his position as fast as he could.

The tiger growled as he herd Spencer's footsteps get quieter and eventually inaudible, and after looking at the two lifeless corpses laying in the hallway he pulled his radio out. "Shit… Spencer just snapped. Vik and Rammy are dead."

"WHAT?" Joel shouted in shock.

"Something about a voice in his head, I dunno," the tiger replied. "But he just turned and gave away my position. I'm gonna have to retreat."

"Go, get out of there," Joel affirmed. "Grab Rammy's tags first though."

"Understood. Sorry fellas."

Joel angrily threw his radio into his pocket in a huff, slamming the bag he had strapped to his shoulders down on the roof. Before he could unzip it, Skae was there to pat his back.

"I'm sorry Joel," she said sweetly.

"Another one of my teammates gone," he grumbled in disbelief. Shaking his head, he glanced down at his bag and proceeded to unzip it to reveal its contents. The first things he removed were the attachments: a large 40X zoom scope about the size and length of his forearm, and a bi-pod attachment to stabilize the last thing he pulled out of the bag.

He instantly unfolded the large shoulder stock of a custom built bolt-action Barrett M107A1 — a long-distance sniper rifle that was almost half of his size. It's light sandy brown color mixed in with the sleek black scope and muzzle suppressor gave it a very professional appearance, and judging by a few gashes and chips in the otherwise exquisite paint, it was Joel's favorite toy. Many of its noteworthy areas that caught Skae's eye was the massive twenty-nine inch barrel and the numerous etchings into the paint just underneath the scope that tallied Joel's victims; seventeen.

And hopefully counting.

He slipped the similarly colored bi-pod underneath the base of the muzzle right in front of the ten bullet magazine filled with cartridges longer than Joel's fingers. Locking it into place with the pull of the lever behind the scope resulting in a loud click, he placed the ends of the bi-pod on the edge of the building overlooking the large plaza.

"We're in the clear," Skae said in his ear. "Nobody saw us."

Joel smirked and grabbed a hold of the weapon, pressing his eye into the scope.

"I swiped a schedule of the address on the way in," Skae remarked, unfolding a piece of paper. "General Jaeger will set the stage, followed by Secretary Tavares and then Minister Muzzin. Do you want to wait for Muzzin to take the stage?"

Joel grunted in negativity, adjusting the output of his scope. "No longer than I have to…"

"Good plan," Skae grinned, grabbing the radio strapped to her vest. "We're going loud in thirty. On our go."

The Lieutenant tuned her out for a brief moment so that he could get an optimal view of the stage. His scope was adjusted, his stance perfect, his view couldn't be better, and the circumstances were the best he could ask for.

Now all he had to do was wait.

Wait for the son of a bitch that started all the hell.

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Arcene's peaceful nap on the couch was gently terminated as Fox grabbed her shoulder and shook her weakly. Her red-orange eyes fluttered open, and at the sight of Fox she smiled and yawned, stretching her arms.

"Sleep well princess?" Fox taunted, patting her hip with the back of his paw. Arcene groggily scooted farther down on the couch, letting Fox sit down right next to her and wrap his arm around her neck.

"I didn't even know I was that tired," she moaned, trying to free up her muscles. "How long was I out?"

"At least an hour," Fox answered. "I left to pick Fara up and when we came back you were out cold."

"Did you know that your ears twitch every time you snore?" Fara's muffled voice emanated from the kitchen, accompanied with a mirthful, sarcastic laugh that the two other vulpine's had to admit was very contagious.

"I'd be able to put money down on that same fact for you, big ears," Arcene countered, laughing in the same manner the fennec did moments prior.

"It's nice to see you girls are getting along," Fox said in an intentionally raised voice so both vixens could hear. "Keep that up and I'll be able to keep you both."

Arcene giggled and gave the tod a gentle shove. "Believe me Fox, I'd do anything to stay with you, even if it means I have to put up with big ears each and every day."

"Gee, thanks!" Fara shouted sarcastically, then within moments she popped out of the kitchen and turned her gaze to the couch, smirking smugly. "You know what they say about big ears, toots. I can hear everything you say, so you better watch it."

"Firstly, please don't call me _toots_ ," Arcene started with a grin. "And secondly, I was just kidding ya know? I know you feel the same way about him."

"I'm not making that same mistake again," Fara grinned, resting her paws on the exposed armrest of Fox's couch. "I'll do everything I can to be with you Fox."

Fox smiled and patted the open section of the couch with his paw. "Then what are you waiting for? Come here."

Fara giggled lightheartedly and wedged herself onto the loveseat, Fox instinctively wrapping his other arm around her. He officially sandwiched himself between two of the most beautiful vixens he's ever known, and judging by his cheesy and goofy smile, he couldn't be happier.

"Isn't the address on?" Arcene piped up, sinking her head into Fox's shoulder and chest. Fox grunted in approval, reaching around the silver vixen to punch a button on the remote, immediately turning the TV on. As he waited for the screen to warm up, he sank back into his previous position, allowing both vixens to cuddle up to him and embrace him warmly.

When the screen became visible to all three of them, they found that the wolf-dog general had already taken to the stage and was already in the middle of his speech.

"…ust give my thanks to the leader who has rightfully earned them by organizing this event, Prime Minister Victor Muzzin. Without him, this address would not be taking place, and I wouldn't have the opportunity to… shed light on something I found out just yesterday. If I were you… I'd listen up."

 **\/~~◊~~\/**

Wes took another long look at the crowd gathered in the square—almost a hundred thousand strong—then figured it was as good a time as ever. "I know, this is an incredibly touchy subject for most of you, but as my duty as your General, I must retell information that I deem as a priority for you people to know."

He glanced over his shoulder to see Muzzin, in his usual position of sitting in the center of the stage in his seat, staring at the hybrid with an eyebrow raised, obviously confused as to what he was referencing. Wes nodded, revealing a sealed yellow envelope underneath the podium bearing the mark of House Halrand — immediately causing the wolf's blood to boil.

"What the fuck does he think he's doing?" Muzzin questioned the green canary sitting next to him through clenched teeth. Andersen in reply just shrugged his shoulders.

Wes cleared his throat and removed a rather thick stack of papers, jogging them on the podium momentarily before continuing. "This is a transcript given to me by an old friend, detailing the events leading up to and following the worst catastrophe Corneria has ever dealt with."

Joel brought his crosshairs over the stage, then twisted the dial over the scope causing the image in his eye to zoom and enhance. He adjusted his grip on the large rifle and searched for his target, eventually placing the black notches right over the Prime Minister's head. Unfortunately, with the distance he had, even when he'd aim for his head he might accidentally go over his head or hit his neck instead. Granted, the zoom allowed him to get a good view on the wolf's head, but accuracy from his distance would be another thing.

"Got'cha you son of a bitch," Joel muttered silently, caressing the trigger of his rifle longingly.

"House Salfar's transcripts and recordings of the First Contact."

Joel stopped himself from firing as the words came across his ears; his scope immediately transferring to the hybrid so he could watch him sort through the set of papers.

"I know, I know, the First Contact is a very touchy subject for most of you," Wes continued humbly. "I know a lot of you have lost family because of either the devastation or the retaliation efforts, but I know most of you thought it was a lost cause. It wasn't what it was thought out to be. Bear with me fellas, there's a lot of information I need to sift through."

Muzzin, overcome with rage and an incredibly high blood pressure, stood up and growled at the general. "That's enough Jaeger. I gave you a slot to talk about the Papetoon situation and how we will recover from this. Not once did I approve of you bringing Verian documents into this."

"Tough luck," Wes snapped. "This is my slot, thank you very much. If you feel the need to retort to any of these findings, you can wait your turn like the rest of us."

Muzzin contorted his muzzle, baring his teeth in the process, but decided to let the hybrid go on with whatever it was he had. Wes again cleared his throat and glanced down at the papers.

"In general, these papers detail House Salfar of Veris Alpha's observations on the events that ultimately started the First Contact war. Now, what is said in these documents completely disprove any theory our scientists and researchers here have come up with, so my apologies if this information is somewhat provocative and surprising—"

"Get on with it…" Joel growled softly, reassuming his target on the wolf-dog.

"Easy Joel," Skae reassured. "He's not who we want."

"Everyone knows what happened," Wes remarked. "The human satellite broke atmosphere and destroyed the city in this very spot. The humans didn't intentionally do anything wrong… but what if I told you it wasn't an accident?"

It seemed as though the entire audience fell silent in either confusion or downright shock. Not even a chorus of murmuring erupted from the thousands-strong crowd at the wolf-dog's statement.

"Truth is, the satellite's demise was not an unfortunate malfunction like we first presumed. Instead, accurate eye witness accounts and surveillance states that it was not an act of intentional destruction on behalf of the humans, but of sabotage from a previously overlooked party."

That's where the crowd erupted into murmuring.

"What?" Muzzin barked irately.

"What…?" Joel whispered curiously. "What overlooked party?"

"Approximately the same time of the first sightings of the human satellite, Veris Alpha was busy dealing with an uprising by one of their unruly houses, and their battle strayed from Verian territory and into Cornerian airspace."

Muzzin seemed to have steam pouring out of his ears, meriting a slight smirk from Joel at his expense. He deserved every bit of the seemingly tortuous actions the general was forcing upon him.

"As a result, self-proclaimed King Aeon Darkon took the opportunity he was presented with, and intentionally sabotaged the satellite, in turn causing Corneria City's destruction and ultimately becoming the catalyst for the First Contact war against humanity."

Skae looked down at Joel, and could practically see his blood boiling over and out of his skin. "Joel…"

"Darkon you son of a bitch," Joel growled. "You tricked us."

"Joel, we didn't—"

"That mother fucker brought all of this hell!" Joel practically screamed through clenched teeth, threatening to snap the handle off of his sniper rifle. "It's not Muzzin's fault; it's his!"

Wes sighed and shook his head. "It's things like this that make me regret being general," he deadpanned. "Misconceptions. Failure to react accordingly. Failure to get all of our answers straight before impulsively attacking someone out of revenge. Things like this shouldn't happen."

 _You're god damn right_ , Joel thought with a nasty scowl that could break glass. To think all of that hell could have been avoided with just a simple set of observations and research. To think that millions back at home would still be alive if they just would have investigated more thoroughly. The conflict wouldn't be present. There wouldn't be a vendetta between all three of these races. It would just be one singular war.

The war to put Darkon in his place.

Then again, he could have done that the first day of arriving in Lylat, when he first confronted the dragon. If he would have known that the black scaled dragon was the cause of all their sufferings and conflicts, he would have put that son of a bitch down the second he saw him.

"And Darkon is still on the loose and we have no idea where he is," Wes continued. "The Verian Guardian Corps is hot on his tail, and with every day they are getting closer and closer to apprehending him and his accomplices who were responsible for the attack on Cerinia."

"Shit…" Joel hissed.

"At any rate, I have a few more details House Salfar has graciously provided me," Wes let a small grin surface. "Bear with me, this could get lengthy."

The hybrid proceeded to go on a tangent detailing the information Vince gifted him, but while he was speaking Joel was getting more and more upset, irate, and inconsolable.

"He didn't even apologize," Joel remarked quietly, again adjusting the focus on his scope. "He attacked the wrong civilization out of impulse and revenge and he can't even apologize for it?"

"Joel, you don't underst—"

"I understand completely," the human interrupted angrily. "What I understand is that they wrongly attacked _my_ home because they didn't do enough research beforehand, and now that they know the truth they can't even administer a simple apology to us for wrongly attacking us?!"

"Joel, listen," Skae pleaded. "It wasn't his fault. Wes wasn't—"

"Thinking?" Joel snapped. "This asshole caused everything! He ordered that destruction!"

"It wasn't him," Skae yipped, placing her paws over Joel's shoulders to try to snap him out of his rage. In response, he subconsciously pushed her away hard enough for her to fall on her tail and grunt in pain and predominant shock. Once he was free of obstructions, he drew his eye up to the scope again and focused on his true target.

"This is for the millions back at home, you sadistic, ungrateful bastard!"

 ** _K'THUMFH_**

Even with the distance he had, the massive sniper rifle's discharge caused an exploding reverberation heard over ten full-sized city blocks away as the huge .50 caliber bullet ripped out of the barrel and careened towards the stage. Wes didn't even have time to twitch his ears before the hammer dropping filled his ears.

The bullet pierced the left side of Wes' thick, furry neck, ripping through his left Vagus nerve and puncturing his trachea, before finally spilling out of the back of his neck along with a large, sickening amount of blood. As the huge splatter of crimson slapped against the stage, the bullet continued its path of destruction while losing virtually no momentum, traveling in its downward angle in such a coincidental way that it embedded itself into Secretary Enroth's right foot. The crowd immediately let out a deafening chorus of shrieks and howls at the combination of the echoing discharge and the scene they were witnessing.

Wes instantly covered the hole in his throat on sheer instinctive reaction, gasping and sputtering as blood poured from his wound and into his lungs and the stage. He lurched forward into the podium first, then when that did not budge he took two staggering steps backwards before toppling to his left in a heap. He continued to desperately claw at his throat in an attempt to relieve the overwhelming pain for a few moments as the senators and secretaries scattered from their positions in an attempt to seek shelter. When the liquid pouring from his neck did not let up—inadvertently creating a lake of his thick crimson blood around his head and shoulder—and when Wes' desperate and longing pleas to breathe fell on deaf ears, his spastic tail and loud sputtering and gargling over his own blood slowly simmered down to a unhealthy silence.

Another gunshot exploded from the other side of the square where Erik was perched, and this one had a much more fortuitous outcome in his mind. While Muzzin bolted from his position and attempted to seek cover, Erik kept his eye on him and attempted his own way of putting the wolf down. His shot had a much more drastic, yet unintentional slope, curving downwards after it had sprung from the weapon's muzzle and perfectly finding its mark directly between Muzzin's legs. You could almost hear the blood curdling scream explode from his muzzle as he toppled over and curled up into a pitiful ball.

Joel's rage was not over, as he pulled back the bolt and let another massive bullet enter the chamber. Without even thinking, he located another diplomat—not checking to see who it was—and pulled the trigger once more. Another plume of dust shot outward from the rifle as it jerked back against his shoulder, letting him know that another shot had been successfully fired. This time, his angered vision impeded his accuracy, causing the bullet to hit a long, narrow pole of a streetlight off to the right of the stage. Luckily, the bullet caused enough damage to topple the streetlight into the crowd like a fallen tree.

The Lieutenant pulled back and wedged yet another bullet into the chamber, but this time his progress was impeded by Skae who grabbed the bi-pod and jerked it towards herself, throwing off his balance. The momentum of the sudden pull-away made Joel almost drive his face into the concrete overhang his rifle was perched on.

"You've made your point Joel!" she snapped, forcefully pulling the magazine out of his gun. "Calm down man we're going to get caught!"

"Skae, our position's compromised," Alyssa practically shouted. "We need to fall back!"

"Alright, get out of there," Skae yipped at them. "Fall back to the pickup. We're not too far behind you."

Skae nailed Joel with a sharp elbow and forced him into the elevator. After he was inside, she punched in her designated floor with a loud, angry sounding sigh.

"Dipshit hit the wrong guy."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Xiphos' office was a picture of pure chaos.

Amidst the group in the office of Xiphos, Izalia, Talen, Serena, Jona, Vince, and Kirsten (Quina volunteered to watch little Kimmy while her mother watched the address), was a mix of emotions. A very wide and inclusive set of expressions and reactions washed over the very diverse group the moment of the first discharge.

Just earlier they all sat or stood, cramped around a weathered loveseat to see whether or not the information being addressed would calm the tensions. What they got, however, was a picture of stunned silence. Following the first gunshot detonation and the extremely gruesome image of Wes' wound, the entire office fell silent except for a pitiful squeak coming from the female hybrid in the room. As more gunshots rang out, as well as the camera panning back to avoid getting too much of a detailed picture of the bleeding corpse that was Chief of Staff Jaeger, the emotions flew off the hook.

Talen acted the moment the first shot was fired; he was on his transmitter the moment the carnage started and immediately began barking orders to his contacts.

"If you didn't understand me the first time I'll say it again!" Talen shouted. "Someone just hit the Cornerian Parliament! I want every ship we have back up in the air NOW!"

Jona instinctively bolted out of the room to reengage with his squadron as Talen's voice could be heard down the halls loud and clear.

"I want the RVAF Eighth and the Ninth Detachments along with the VGC squadron protecting Cerinia! The Twelfth and the Fourteenth protecting the mines! The rest is to form up on the 17th Defense Fleet!" Talen took a heavy breath and started heading out the door to follow Jona. "I say again: the rest of the fleet aside from the Eight, Ninth, Twelfth, and Fourteenth detachments is to join formation with the Wall! I'm not fucking around here — someone hit the damn Cornerian Parliament on live goddamn TV!"

As Talen stormed out of the room, obviously flustered and incredibly confused, Serena and Izalia tended to Kirsten. As to be expected from her, she was on the verge of a total breakdown. Kirsten Jaeger, the widow of the now late General Wes Jaeger, watched her husband die on live broadcast as if it was a live televised execution. She couldn't believe what just happened; hell she almost refused to believe it. It felt as though her husband—who she just saw a few days ago—was just killed right in front of her. She felt hopeless and moreover, _help_ less.

Xiphos and Vince just stood in stunned silence, staring at the holographic screens behind his desk. Neither one of them could believe what happened.

"You told Wes the truth Vince," Xiphos gently broke the still silence other than the hybrid's weeping and consolation attempts of the two dragonesses. "The moment he made his peace and explained to Corneria that Aeon was at fault… he was shot down…"

"I can't believe it," Vince squeaked out, his voice trembling noticeably. "I… just talked to him yesterday… Who would do this?"

"Do you want an answer Vince?" Xiphos asked him, to which the vulpine nodded. "The Terrans are trying to start a conflict by aggravating Corneria, because they found out I wouldn't do anything to them if they pulled the same trick on me. I know this because there's no way an ordinary Cornerian agency would have a kinetic rifle of that caliber. That shot… that power… that devastation… That's kinetics."

"You mean, the humans wanted you to burn Corneria?" Vince asked shakily, still scarred of the image he saw minutes prior. Xiphos nodded with overwhelming pain.

"They knew we were strong. They knew we could easily wipe them out of Lylat if it came to that, but I wouldn't fall for their cowardly tricks. Now… they just made me a scapegoat for killing Wes, and with Muzzin injured as well this won't be anything but a full-scale counterattack. Why do you think Talen freaked out like he did?"

Vince only nodded, twiddling his clawed thumbs nervously.

"Because he's right," Xiphos answered his own question. "I know for certain that all we can do is ready ourselves for the coming war. I hate to say it, but the eve of conflict is upon us."

Xiphos voice uncharacteristically quivered, as tears started to fall from his eyes. The last time he cried was when each of his sons were killed, but this was different. This wasn't his fault.

"He was a good friend…" Xiphos sighed.

"He was," Vince agreed. "But now all we can do is insure that his death is not in vain."

Xiphos' eyes closed for a moment before opening once again, and opening again with a fiery resolve.

"It won't be."


	14. Burning Fuel

**A/N: Finally! Good god almighty you guys have no idea how frustrating this chapter was to write. I had the framework of it done for ages but just couldn't get words to go onto my screen. It was the worst writer's block I've faced in a while.  
**

 **But, I've got help, as in both Haygood and WhiteWolf helped out immensely with this chapter. If they weren't here this chapter wouldn't even be half done by now. Huge shoutout to those two. On a related note, 11 (?) days until WW exchanges his vows. He's excited. Wish him good luck fellas. :)**

 **Hopefully next chapter won't be a bitch like this one was. I'll try to get out of this writer's funk and get you another chap soon. Thanks for being patient. This one's for you guys. Take care.**

 **(side note: finally able to use a RATM song in the intro. Guys are awesome!)**

* * *

 _Transmission third world war third round  
A decade of the weapon of sound above ground  
No shelter if you're lookin' for shade  
I lick shots at the brutal charade  
As the polls close like a casket  
On truth devoured  
A silent play in the shadow of power  
A spectacle monopolized  
The camera's eyes on choice disguised  
Was it cast for the mass who burn and toil?  
Or for the vultures who thirst for blood and oil?  
Yes a spectacle monopolized  
They hold the reins and stole your eyes  
Or the fistagons  
The bullets and bombs who stuff the banks  
Who staff the party ranks  
More for Gore or the son of a drug lord  
None of the above—fuck it—cut the cord_

 _Lights out, guerrilla radio_  
 _Turn that shit up_  
 _Lights out, guerrilla radio_  
 _Turn that shit up_  
 _Lights out, guerrilla radio_  
 _Turn that shit up_  
 _Lights out_  
 _Guerrilla radio_

 _*Rage Against The Machine – Guerrilla Radio*_

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Burning Fuel**

* * *

 **"It has to start somewhere… It has to start sometime… What better place than here… What better time than now?"**

* * *

After the attack on the Cornerian Parliament, the entire planet fell silent. Out of respect, yeah, that was a given, but more predominantly about something else. Not anger. Not disgust.

But fear.

 _What would happen next?_

Wes Jaeger, the Chief of Staff and acting General of the CDF, and essentially the only string holding back their society from attacking the Verians due to their craving for foreign blood, was gone. They couldn't save him from his injuries. And thus, with his death, ultimately brings about the death of serenity and "peace" between the CDF and the Verians.

With Wes gone, it was only a matter of time, and Fox knew it.

Fox stayed silent at his lab station not out of his own fears, he knew that fearing the impending carnage wouldn't help him in the slightest. No, what kept him silent was his concentration. He had a job to complete.

He knew that nobody else would do what he decided to invest his time into, considering in circumstances of great loss and overwhelming confusion they wouldn't take research into the situation. So, being the rational thinker he claimed himself to be, he combined both his station and equipment with Vince's, and created a nest of technological equipment that would aid in his studies. His hopes consisted of trying to decipher the culprit of the first large-scale assassination amongst the Cornerian Parliament, and ultimately find them to bring them to justice.

Fox had four full-sized screens arranged in a gentle arch across the surface of his desk, laid out in such a way that he could effortlessly transition his gaze to any particular screen without it becoming indecipherable in his current position. Along with his screens, he had a holographic projector that aided in analyzing information he could pull off his screens with a simple finger gesture. If that wasn't enough, he had his transmitter synced with his expanse of technology to transition from one screen to another, as well as an experimental eyepiece he was in the process of perfecting from Vince's prototype design.

With satellite imagery, Fox triangulated the entire area of the address and had every single piece of information labeled on top of it. Each screen displayed a distinct view of the plotted area, giving him a complete three hundred and sixty degree view of the entire area. Using his transmitter screen as a mouse, he zoomed in and out of the view by expanding and pinching his fingers respectfully, humming in confusion with each gesture.

"This is professional," he muttered under his breath, inadvertently acquiring Vince's old habits of mumbling to himself and biting on his paw. He plotted three points, each one on a specific skyscraper around Winston Square. When he connected them, the long hypotenuse of the triangle directly crossed the stage of the address, while the high point that formed a rough seventy-five degree angle with the two other points formed an implied vertical line that directly crossed the stage, and more specifically, the podium that Wes gave his address on. It was too coincidental that these three buildings failed to respond to a callout after the first shots rang out. It was apparent that these three buildings were the prime suspects for housing the hit-team.

Fox did a quick refresh on his screens, all four of them displaying different perspectives and information on the first building he chose—The First Cornerian Tower. Looking at the stage with the height of the implied triangle at the top of the screen, the tower sat off to the left of the stage. Using what Vince had taught him over the years, he seamlessly slipped through firewalls and secure networks all the way through to security and surveillance cameras littered all over the two-hundred story plus building. However, when all four screens transitioned to each camera after rewinding the recordings back to the time of the address, all he got was static.

"Should've known," Fox grumbled bitterly. "Professional hit-men wouldn't dare get caught on camera. Must've had jammers on them."

The vulpine drummed his digits on the table and continued to apply pressure to his paw, threatening to break skin underneath the coat of auburn colored fur. With every second of Fox trying to break the barrier behind the jamming signal, his frustration levels increased.

"This would be so much easier if Vince were here," Fox muttered under his breath, getting a slight pain in his chest just thinking about it. Vince was a huge help in his research, and although he didn't recognize it at first, he really needed that arctic fox. He would help him get through tough jobs such as the one he presented himself with easily. It just seemed like Vince was everything for him.

It seemed like Vince was all of his brains. Alone, he felt worthless.

Then again… He had the Reflector all to his name. He had the Battlecruiser _Phoenix_ to his name. He had his own inventions that didn't require Vince's help. He had his own knowledge.

Yet how the hell was he going to figure out who took down Wes?

Fox thrusted his paw against the table in a fit of frustration. "Gah, I can't do this!" he moaned, nearly slamming his head down. "I have no idea how to do this…"

As if some divine being heard his cries of agony and distress, Fox felt his transmitter vibrate. Looking down at the caller ID, his heart nearly skipped a beat. Although it wasn't the person he needed most at the current moment, he would be stupid to ignore and decline the call.

Smiling, Fox accepted the call in an unorthodox way by swiping the ID forwards into his foremost holographic screen, and almost instantly the flat window of an extremely familiar face popped up into his vision. He didn't even have time to look up from his transmitter before the light copper husky squealed in delight.

"Oh my goodness it worked!" Sheila yipped in surprise, seemingly smiling wider than the screen would allow her to. "Hi Fox!"

"Well here's someone I wasn't expecting to see today," Fox grinned back, resting his elbows on his desk. Sheila giggled giddily, pawing at her cinnamon hair explosion as she crossed her right leg.

"I know right? I wasn't expecting it to work either, but luckily I've got some friends here that not only let me do this, but helped me set it up too. I don't know how you or Vince do this stuff. I can't even open the video chat app without having issues."

Fox chuckled and patted the table in a fast-paced rhythm. "I wish Vince were here right now. I'm having a lot of difficulties with work without him."

Sheila immediately showcased concern by angling her eyebrows outward. "Aww, what's wrong Foxie?"

"I'm trying to figure out who attacked Wes and Parliament," Fox sighed. "Nothing of what I'm doing is working."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," Sheila gently interjected. "Is… everything okay over there?"

Fox paused for a few moments, just staring at the floor absentmindedly as if the floor would answer for him. Letting another sigh out of his nostrils, his ears folded against his head as he looked back up at the image of the husky.

"It's quiet…" Fox admitted. "Too quiet."

"Okay Peppy," Sheila joked, trying to bring a little humor into the situation which evidently worked with the small grin Fox let loose. "But, like, is… is there a lot of precautionary measures being taken right now?"

"Corneria is on high alert if that's what you're asking," Fox answered frankly. "All ports are closed for an indeterminate amount of time, and the streets are crawling with officers. Nobody wants to go outside in this mess."

"I don't blame ya," Sheila admitted. "Sounds rough. How's Parliament?"

"Struggling," Fox deadpanned. "Wes is dead, the secretaries are panicking, and Muzzin is going to snap. I hope you, Wolf, and the others are safe there."

"I'm safe, but Wolf… he actually just got assigned a mission," the husky said slowly. "He's been charged with a hit on Darkon's regime, hopefully the monster himself. When Wolf gets home, he's staying here with us. No more… not yet that is."

Fox cocked his head. "What do you mean by that?"

Sheila's eyes immediately opened wide in shock. "Oh my goodness I never told you! Fox, this is wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! We found out just the other day that Wolf and I are finally going to be parents! I'm expecting, Fox!"

Fox's muzzle dropped wide open in shock. "Oh wow! Congrats She. How'd Wolfie take it?"

Sheila giggled and bit her lower lip. "Oh, he was just floored with it. I honestly didn't think he'd stop smiling."

"Can't blame him at all," Fox smirked. "Planning any more after this one?"

"Duh," Sheila smiled a goofy smile. "Fox, I love kids. I want as many as Wolf can fill me wi— oh… uh… sorry, Fox. I just… heh, got carried away there."

Fox chuckled when Sheila's face started blushing furiously. She giggled herself to eliminate some of her inadvertent embarrassment, but right when Fox was about to speak her ears twitched as she heard something in the background. She cranked her head around to the sound of the noise, then immediately showed off her teeth and waved in her direction.

"Oh, hey, come here for a second," she shouted, then faced Fox with a proud little smile. "There's someone I want you to meet Fox."

"Oh, really?" Fox asked, cocking his ears as he shifted himself in his seat.

"One of our Verian friends had some charges on Cerinia, and when that terrible tragedy hit he took them back here to keep them safe. He's with the older one right now, but I already told the youngest about you and she's really eager to meet you."

"Is that Fox?" a female voice piped in from off to Sheila's left. Sheila instantly nodded and grinned back at her.

"Yeah, come here and talk to him," she said, scooting away from the camera slightly. Fox folded his paws and stared expectantly at the screen, just getting giddy waiting there. He knew how beautiful Cerinians were, especially the vixens. Their blue fur was always something to marvel, and their telepathic abilities always interested Fox to no end. The faint footsteps became progressively heavier, and just when he thought he couldn't take the suspense, Krystal's head popped into frame next to Sheila.

Wow. Fox was anticipating beauty, but not in _this_ caliber. Of all the Cerinian's Fox had ever seen, this one on his screen was easily the most attractive and most beautiful of all of them. Her midnight blue hair, her sapphire blue and white fur, her turquoise eyes, and most of all that intoxicatingly gorgeous smile that had found itself on her short and slender muzzle were just so entrancing to him.

"Hi," Krystal grinned, melting Fox's heart into mush. "You must be Fox? Sheila told me all about you. Her description was dead on!"

"H-h-hi," Fox forced a grin back, unable to control himself in her presence.

"Oh, where are my manners?" the vixen giggled. "I'm Krystal. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Fox replied quietly, staring at the vixen longingly much to his obliviousness. Krystal saw that he was completely mesmerized by her and smiled awkwardly, beginning to blush purple.

Fox didn't know what else to say. He was stuck, completely transfixed on the vixen's fine looking frame, and that was an understatement. Man, he never felt so awkward, yet so compelled to say something in his life. At least with Fara and Arcene he had an icebreaker, but what was he going to say to impress her? Damn was she beautiful, but he just sat there with a stupid stare as if he had been staring at a TV all night.

Krystal, on the other hand—er, paw—absolutely adored how mesmerized he was. Only five seconds after seeing her for the first time and she could sense he was in love at first sight. She didn't even have to say anything and he was already floored. Giggling again to get the blushing in her cheeks to die down, she shifted her stance and stared back at him, deciding to add on to what was already building.

"Oh my gods and goddesses," she whispered. "Sheila was right. You are the _cutest_ thing I've ever laid my eyes on!"

Boy, she got a huge laugh out of how Fox seemed to just melt into a puddle after hearing that remark. His ears and face immediately turned redder than the scarf wound around his neck, and as per his habit he reached backwards to scratch an itch as a small nervous grin surfaced.

"Oh, uh… thanks," Fox stuttered slightly. "I, uh… er… jeez, I... I'm sorry Krystal, I just…"

"Loss for words?" she spoke with such assurance, smirking to herself smugly. Fox didn't think he could ever blush brighter than what he was now.

"HAHA OH MY GOODNESS FOX!" Sheila bellowed from across the room. "YOU SHOULD SEE YOUR FACE RIGHT NOW!"

Fox laughed along sheepishly, trying to conceal his blazing hot face. "Gosh, I'm so sor—"

"Oh don't apologize," Krystal interjected, smiling back at him warmly. "It's my fault I got all of us worked up."

Fox nodded weakly. "So, uh, Krystal… I uh, I—"

"Fox, breathe!" Sheila shouted. Fox begrudgingly took her advice after a momentary pause, then after a hard swallow he forced himself to make eye contact. However, as soon as he tried to open his muzzle, he heard the lab door hiss open along with an unmistakable bubbly, female voice.

"Fox?" Arcene called out from the doorway. "Hey, you in here?"

Fox briefly stood up and waved at her. "Over here."

"Who was that?" Krystal asked.

"Oh, that's, uh… my girlfriend," Fox explained, making Krystal's eyes widen. A few moments later, Arcene made a graceful entrance by practically pouncing on Fox in his seat, wrapping her arms around him to keep herself from falling and launching a barrage of small kisses all over his face. Both Sheila and Krystal giggled on the other end as Fox managed to pull the excited silver vixen off his face.

"Fox, you are not gonna believe what just happened to me!" she damn near shouted in his ears point blank. Fox playfully grabbed her muzzle and kept it shut as he shook to get the pain out of his ears.

"Do you gotta scream so loud?" he smirked, licking the tip of her nose.

"Just lemme tell you," her muffled voice escaped her forcefully closed muzzle. Fox released her face after one last kiss, and instead of Arcene exploding into her story she leaned forward and kissed him one more time.

"Aww, you two are just too cute together," Krystal piped in. Arcene's ears twitched at the unfamiliar voice, and when she turned to face the screen her jaw dropped.

"Whoa," the subconscious word slipped out of Arcene's muzzle at the sight of the beautiful Cerinian vixen. Both Krystal and Fox laughed in unison at the absolutely stupefied look the silver vixen expressed.

Fox patted Arcene's back and pointed at the screen. "Arcy, this is one of Sheila's Cerinian friends Krystal. Krystal, this is Arcene, my best friend and loving girlfriend."

"Nice to meet you," Krystal grinned, only increasing the silver vixen's awe. She was in a state of dealing with an overwhelmingly high amount of emotions, one of which being a heat that she didn't know she possessed.

"God you're beautiful," Arcene blurted out, then immediately covered her muzzle as her cheeks started to blaze red. Fox cranked his head to look at her with an obviously shocked expression.

"Arcene!" he yipped softly. "What was that all about?"

"I'm-I'm sorry," she apologized sheepishly. "I-I-I don't know what got into me."

"Well, thanks for the compliment anyway," Krystal giggled. "You're really beautiful yourself Arcene. Fox is lucky to have you."

Both foxes on the other end blushed and looked at each other.

"Hey Fox," Sheila piped up. "Kryssy here is single, ya know?"

Fox's head immediately cranked around to face the husky. "Sheila!"

"And it's obvious that _both_ of you like her," she continued, smirking all the while. "Whad'ya say Fox? You in for a long distance relationship?"

Fox's eyes started wandering all over the place to avoid eye contact with anyone. "I-I, well, er, this is… just so sudden," he said, scratching behind his neck. "I mean, I… I just don't know."

"Fox, no offense, but you are stupid to pass her up," Arcene about growled. "I could only dream to be as beautiful as her. And from the early looks of it, she has a great sense of humor."

"It's true," Krystal giggled slightly. "But I don't want to force you into something you— wait, Cornerians can have more than one relationship too?"

"Yes, for the vulps like that handsome devil over there," Sheila cooed. "It's not just a Cerinian thing."

"Oh, that makes me feel better," the Cerinian vixen grinned. Fox grinned back, but slightly frowned afterward.

"Well, shoot girls, I… just don't know," he admitted, flattening his ears, "I don't know if I can handle all of this at once."

"I understand Fox," Krystal nodded. "I think it's just too soon. Maybe you could come out here and I could meet all of you in person."

"I'd love to, but we're kinda stuck on Corneria," Fox explained. "All interstellar travel is grounded right now. We had quite a scene yesterday."

"Oh, I've heard," the vixen said. "I'm sorry about that. I hope everything works out okay."

"I do too," the orange vulpine mumbled.

"I mean, I've never really liked Cornerians all that much because of all the chaos they've caused, but… you and Arcene have proven me wrong. It's not right to blame a whole race for the actions of one man. Sheila told me that."

"Because she knows that fact well," Fox added.

"Yeah, she told me about some of the things your government did," the vixen continued. "I mean, some of the things your government did were absurd! If my village got caught doing the things your government did, we'd be banished for life! …Or worse…"

Fox nodded truthfully. "We're a mess."

"Well, you and Arcene aren't," Krystal smiled. "You two are some of the first Cornerians I've met, and let me just say you've completely flipped my stance on your race. You especially Fox."

Fox blushed again. "Oh, uh, what did I do?"

Krystal giggled once more, that same adorable giggle Fox fell in love with the first time. "Just being here, silly. Sheila told me you were such a sweetheart, and I have to agree. If you were here with me right now Fox I'd give you a huge hug."

Arcene giggled and nudged Fox when he didn't reply right away. Fox stuttered for just a brief second before saying, "Oh, uh, I-I-I would too."

After a brief awkward silence, Fox shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. "Well, uh, I think I need to go before the authorities get on me for breaking into a secure network and talking with a restricted caller. It was nice talking to you Krystal, and," Fox raised his voice slightly, "Good luck with your new pup Sheila. It was good to hear from you again."

"Thanks for talking Fox," the husky waved.

"Bye you two," Arcene called out as the two girls on the other end waved their goodbyes. Fox terminated the call after saying his own goodbyes, then after the screen went blank he felt a paw harshly come into contact with his shoulder.

"What's the big idea of you talking to a _third_ girl behind my back?"

"What's the deal with you getting hot and bothered with this third girl when I'm standing right here?" Fox retorted.

"But Fox, I—"

"Answer me Arcene," Fox said sternly. "Why were you getting heated up with Krystal?"

"Fox, I'm so sorry," she squeaked. "I don't know what got into me. I've never acted that way before."

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Fox questioned, taking the flustered emotions of his girlfriend as a very concerning and worrisome matter.

"No, Fox, never!" the vixen answered adamantly. "I would never do that to you!"

"Then what's the deal?" Fox asked in a hushed voice. "Are you okay?"

Arcene took a moment to respond, but when she did she shook her head tentatively, hoping it wouldn't spark any more unnecessary emotion from the vulpine.

"What's wrong baby?" Fox pressed warmly, gently pulling her onto his lap. Arcene whimpered as she essentially buried herself into his warm and inviting frame, only increasing Fox's worry. "Arcy?"

The silver vixen regained her composure somewhat and looked up at fox pitifully. "Well, I've been acting really strange lately, so I went to the infirmary earlier today, and… well… it's about what I came here to tell you," she whispered, gently rubbing her face against his own. "You… you'll never guess what happened."

Fox cocked his head questioningly. "What is it?"

Arcene slowly formed a grin and bit her lower lip. "Well… remember the conversation we had a while back about… …about sacrificing my training for you?"

Fox about passed out. He flushed whiter than his lab coat, and his heart damn near stopped in abrupt shock.

"No…" Fox said, staring at her with wide eyes and a slightly agape muzzle.

Arcene nodded slightly, giving him a warm and reassuring grin. "Yes."

"You… you're not…" Fox tried to dissuade her, but he knew his attempts were futile. Arcene's smile increased as she nodded even more.

"Fox," she started, starting to tear up in joy. It seemed time stood still for that particular moment as Fox waited for the obvious bombshell to be dropped on him. She looked down at her body, giving Fox the answer he didn't want to hear now, but still overjoyed him to no end.

"I'm the happiest girl alive, being able to start your family."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

 ** _All hell can't stop us now_**

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Riding on the wolf-dog Secretary Kyle Reeves' right wing as he slowly walked through the winding hallways of the hospital was the Secretary of Homeland Security Jessy Seabrook—a lean, yet strong and beautiful tigress. Kyle sighed and stepped into the open elevator as soon as they got there, pressing the specific button after swiping his keycard against the receiver.

"Kyle?" Jessy spoke up softly like a small child. "This… this isn't going to be good, is it?"

Kyle shook his head and leaned against the far wall as the elevator slowly ascended. "No."

"But we can fix this, right?" she asked, turning to face him.

Again, all Reeves said was, "No."

The tigress' eyes curled downward. "There has to be something."

"Not when Wes is dead and Muzzin is in bitch-mode," Kyle grunted scornfully. "You know the hierarchy. One goes down, another fills in. Until we can elect a new Chief of Staff, Muzzin has full control. Now he's got the entire Parliament and the entire CDF by the balls and can do whatever it is he wants. He's gonna tear the planet apart."

"Kyle, that seems unlikely," she remarked.

"Unlikely?" he spat back. "Jessy, Muzzin has the power to send _MILLIONS_ to their graves in a counter-attack on Veris and there is nothing we can do to tell him no! He can slaughter anyone he can just by forcing them to fight!"

"Then you need to talk to him," Jessy explained. "You need to voice your opinion."

Kyle snorted as the elevator door opened. "To hell with my opinion. Jess, someone tried to _kill_ him. When he finds out who did it, he's dragging them to their grave whether they like it or not. Until we can find out who shot him, he's going off on anyone he can find, and will use any means necessary to do so."

"That's illegal though," the tigress exclaimed, following the hybrid into the hallway.

"It's only illegal if he directly disobeys a majority rule," Kyle explained seriously. "And now that Muzzin has both the main seat in Parliament, as well as the Chief of Staff title, nobody can overrule him. Why do you think everyone was comparing General Jaeger to the string keeping Corneria held together? With him gone, nothing is stopping that deranged bastard from tearing us apart."

"Can't we band together to revoke his power in _our_ majority rule?"

"Muzzin has his seats, as per his own laws," the wolf-dog growled under his breath. "And now that he has the Chief of Staff's seats as well, there is no way to impeach him, even if we take into consideration all Parliamentary and Colonial votes. He's cemented as the head of the LHC until he says he's had enough."

"But pretty soon there won't be an LHC anymore," Jessy whimpered.

Kyle nodded. "That's not what I'm worried about though."

"Then what is it you are?"

"I'm worried about our own people turning against each other," Kyle answered, stopping as he came to the door marked on his notecard. Tapping the door with his clawed digits, he signaled his intentions to enter before swiping his card and slipping into the hospital room.

Victor Muzzin laid underneath a thick blanket with numerous machines wired up to his arms and legs. He looked pale under his fur, but his chest was rising and falling and his eyes mindlessly stared at the TV in front of him. At the sound of the door shutting behind the two Secretaries, he gently turned his head towards them and gave them a weak, forced smile.

"Oh, uh, Kyle… Jessy… It's, uh, very surprising to see you here."

"Just figured we'd stop by to see how you were doing," Kyle answered him stoically, taking the unoccupied seat near the door.

"How are you feeling sir?" Jessy asked concernedly.

"I just got my dick blown off," Muzzin spat with such an acidic inflection it could melt through steel. "How do you think I feel?"

Taking the ensuing silence as the wrong answer, the injured minister pressed a button on his remote, signaling for his nurse.

"Sorry. I've been a lot better," the red wolf sighed after a momentary pause. "Just lucky to be alive at this point."

Kyle nodded gently, crossing his legs. "How long are you out of commission?"

"For office duty, easily two weeks… maybe more," Muzzin grunted. "But, I'm still breathing. That means I can still do my job sitting here. And believe me fellas, I've got a lot of work to do."

Reeves unnoticeably cringed. "I guess a Minister's work is never done, eh?" he tried to throw a bit of humor into the situation, chuckling slightly. Surprisingly, Muzzin chuckled back in the best display of mirthfulness he had shown in a long time.

"You have no idea Kyle," he sighed, shutting his yellow eyes as his head sank into his pillow. Moments later, the door unlatched as a tiny female coyote tentatively slipped into the room. She breathed a slight sigh of relief at the sight of Kyle and Jessy, but she still had a noticeable case of the shakes as she approached the injured politician.

"Is everything okay sir?" she squeaked out, clutching her wrist behind her back. Muzzin grinned at her and shifted his stance much to his discomfort, then gently reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"Would you mind bringing our guests a drink or two?" he asked with a surprisingly warm tone. Even though his tone sounded welcoming and inviting, the coyote still shuddered and attempted to pull away.

"Oh, uh, sure thing sir," she stuttered.

Muzzin licked his lips and let out a quiet, predatory growl as the nurse turned around—his eyes fixated on her slender curves and sandy brown bushy tail. Getting his instincts under control, he blinked a few times and refocused on the two secretaries.

"Can you believe I was lucky enough to get her as my personal nurse?" he questioned after she left the room, smiling proudly. "She's one cute, young woman. Name was Carrie or something like that. Damn, I want her in my office during—"

"Victor," Kyle interrupted contemptuously. "Jess and I came here to talk, not to listen to you drool over your nurse."

Muzzin sighed. "Very well. What is it you two need?"

The coyote returned with a tray of a few glasses of water, then scurried off before Muzzin could pipe up. Reeves grabbed a glass and swirled the contents absentmindedly.

"Well, Minister, we came here to ask what your plans were now that you're stuck in bed for so long," Kyle explained. Muzzin took a few seconds to process the question before smirking.

"You wonder why I like you Reeves," he started, smugly chuckling to himself. "You're always one to take into consideration my viewpoint first."

"I listen to the people above all else," Kyle corrected, taking a quick sip of the ice water. "They know when something is going wrong or not. A lot seem to think that—"

"A lot of people seem to think I do an awful job here," Muzzin interrupted softly, as if he already knew the situation. "They say I fear change. They want to see action done in this seat—something that will change our community, and moreover, our civilization for the better."

Opening his eyes, half of his muzzle started to contract as he faced the secretaries. "How can those people be so naïve? They fail to see what work I've done! What hard, dedicated work I've put countless hours into in this position! Yet… all they see is the negative… It just goes to show that you can do millions of great things in a position of power, yet it's the bad things that define your tenure."

Muzzin sighed yet again, showing the most genuine emotion and confliction since his family was killed years ago. It honestly looked as though the coldhearted Prime Minister of Corneria was on the verge of tears as he continued speaking.

"I've done everything I could, you two," he stated firmly, licking his chops again. "I've bent over backwards for my people in an attempt to keep them safe, and this is how they repay me? They try to kill me?! DO THEY REALIZE WHAT I CAN DO?!"

The machines near him started beeping louder, signaling he was starting to lose his composure. He took a few heavy breaths and calmed himself down, slowly letting his blood pressure simmer to comfortable levels.

"They want me to do something?" he started quietly, shutting his eyes again. "Okay. I will. I'll take action alright."

Opening his eyes again, he turned to Kyle and looked him dead in the eyes. "I want all active-duty CDF personnel armed and ready to fight in the next seventy-two hours. They want action. I'll bring it to them."

"Victor, I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not," Jessy piped in awkwardly.

"If my people want me to do something, then I will," he repeated yet again. "They can fight to their heart's desire. It's only what _they_ want. They want to take action."

Kyle shook his head. "This isn't what they meant Vic—"

"Then what is it they meant, Kyle?" Muzzin snapped. "Frankly, at this point, I don't give a fuck what it is they _want_. All I know is that they want to see change. Not just normal change. Radical change. Truth be told, I like that idea. They can help me accomplish that idea of change, starting with beefing up our tolerance of foreign interference."

"Victor, those are your people you're basically condemning to die on the front lines," Kyle argued gruffly. "There are better ways."

"I'm sorry, who is the Chief of Staff here?" Muzzin condescendingly questioned.

"Victor, seriously," Kyle about pleaded. "Don't do this to them. They have families. This is a death sentence to them."

"Who is the Chief of Staff here Reeves?" the red wolf retorted, crossing his arms and licking his muzzle with a somewhat audible slurp. "It's not you. It's not that bastard hybrid Jaeger anymore. It's me. _I'm_ the Chief of Staff here. Now, as my duty allows me to, I order you to send out the command. Get any CDF personnel—active or not—to a licensed base and have them get ready to launch countermeasures on Veris Alpha. If they aren't at a base in seventy-two hours, they are to be arrested for treason."

Kyle balled his paws behind his back. "With all due respect Victor, you have officially lost your god damn mind. No way I'm ordering our soldiers to die like this."

"Is that an act of defiance, Reeves?" Muzzin nearly snarled. "I am your superior. Do what the fuck I tell you to do, and I won't have you arrested for treason. Or, better yet, if you don't do as I say, I'll just order your wife's Destroyer to fire the first shots. What do you have to say to that?"

"You wouldn't dare," Kyle growled through clenched teeth.

"Watch me," the wolf growled right back. "This is your last warning. Get out of my room and give that command or you can say goodbye to that little family you have."

"You son of a bitch," the wolf-dog stood up from his seat. "Are you insane?!"

"Not as insane as you defying my distinct orders," Muzzin curled his eyebrows downward. "I said now Reeves. I'm not joking—I will make your wife's ship the first to go."

Overcome with rage, Kyle stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut, rattling the walls and windows in the process. After Jessy recovered from the sudden shock on her ears, she turned to Muzzin and gave him a particularly disapproving look.

"How could you do that to him?" she questioned. "He's your best advisor at this time. Without him—"

"Without him I wouldn't be held back from what I want to do," Muzzin interrupted. "Wes is dead. _I'm_ the new Chief of Staff. His ass isn't here to prevent me from doing what my people want me to do. His restricting leash he put me on is long gone now, and now that I've got the freedom to do what my mind desires…"

The red wolf chuckled softly and let his head fall back into the pillow, slowly shutting his eyes in the process. After licking his chops again, he sighed in physical pain and clutched his chest.

"Nobody will stop me from avenging our loved ones those overgrown lizards murdered by bombing our city. I can promise you that much."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

 ** _All hell can't stop us now_**

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Joel tentatively unlocked the door to Skae's home, slowly creaking the frozen wooden door open so he could get out of the cold Fichinian climate. However, as soon as the opening became large enough for a body to fit in, the human felt a nasty forearm shiver right in the middle of his spine, making him tumble inside. He fell to his knees after staggering through the doorway, but as he tried to get up he got kicked right in the ass with a heavy boot, throwing him down all the way. He cringed and tried to look up, but winced when the door to the house slammed shut, practically shaking the walls.

"What the fuck Joel?!" Skae snarled, baring her sharp lupine teeth in visible rage. "We had a plan! We had everything planned out! Why?!"

Joel rolled onto his elbow and tried to respond, only to get another one of Skae's heavy kicks right in his abdomen. He wheezed and crumpled over, but that didn't dissuade Skae's verbal and physical assault.

"You son of a bitch, you ruined everything!" she continued, her ears and tail twitching and flicking wildly in anger. "Do you realize what you've done?"

The human only grunted in pain, breathing heavily into the hardwood floors as he contorted his face in pain.

"Look at me Joel."

Joel spit up a bit of blood onto the floor, but refused to look up at her. Not out of shame, but out of fear. He never felt so fearful in his life.

"Joel, get up and look at me _now_."

He balled his hand and forced it into the hardwood, using that as leverage to pick himself off the floor. Gradually, that fear he had towards her melted away into seething rage. When he managed to get to his feet, his hands were curled into burly fists and his face was turning shades of red. Yet, he still refused to make eye contact.

"You seriously don't get it, do you?" Skae growled, glaring at the Lieutenant with a glare that could curdle blood. "My gods Joel you're a damn Lieutenant for fuck's sake! Yet here you are making rookie mistakes! Amateur mistakes!"

"Alright, I get it," he muttered angrily. "I messed up."

"No shit you messed up!" Skae shouted, giving him a push farther into the house. "You lost your control and now you've ruined everything! Now we're fucked!"

"I get it Skae," Joel said through clenched teeth.

"No, you _don't_!" Skae retorted, another push making him stagger farther backwards. "Do you not understand the value of a target? Do you understand that when we have a target, our objective is to take down said target? And now, you killed the wrong guy, and now our target is more dangerous than ever!"

Joel let a heavy breath out of his nose.

"You… you…" Skae started sputtering, but when she realized she couldn't say anything else to him she let a paw fly, slapping Joel straight across the face. The slap echoed throughout the otherwise silent house as Joel immediately covered his face out of reflex and shock. Not once did he think she would hit him in that way.

"You _idiot_!" she continued, snarling yet again. Joel finally snapped, returning the favor with his own harsh slap across her muzzle. The fire ignited.

As soon as Skae recovered from the abrupt, painful slap across her face, her eyes lit up with a fire of pure hatred. Seconds later, Skae attacked, mindlessly throwing punched in hopes that at least one would find its mark. Joel too went on the offensive, his adrenaline coursing through his veins as he exchanged blows with the she-wolf. None of them seemed to do any damage to her, however. They were both blind to pain.

Joel brought the mindless slugfest to an abrupt halt as he grabbed the huntress' wrists and held her down. She squirmed, howled, and snarled at the human holding her down like a wild animal, but Joel wouldn't relent. He just kept her held down as he blindly led her into the living room. In one fluid motion, he lifted her up and slammed her down onto the nearest couch, and using what he could—which was himself—he laid overtop her to prevent her from moving.

"Get the fuck off me!" she complained, trying, but failing to remove the heavier human.

"Skae, I need to talk to you," Joel tried to explain, but the she-wolf was having none of it.

"Help!" she shrieked, trying to gain attention from one of the nearby houses. "Rape! Assault! He's trying to— **_YIP_**!"

Joel brought his forearm down on her lower neck and used his other hand to wrap around her muzzle, immediately silencing her other than some agonized and desperate whining slipping out of her lips.

"Just shut up Skae!" Joel snarled, showing more anger than the wolf had ever seen from him. "I swear to god if you try any of that shit again I will break your god damn neck. Do you understand?"

Whimpering, Skae's rage and frustration slowly simmered into pure fear as she felt the human's arm come within inches of restricting her airways.

"Now, this… what this is… what I did… never leaves this room. Do you understand?"

Again, Skae nodded in fear.

"I wasn't thinking," Joel explained through clenched teeth. "I killed the wrong guy because I was frustrated. I was frustrated about the fact that those Cornerian bastards couldn't be bothered to get their information straight before trying to sweep us under the rug. Things like that piss people off, especially me."

He breathed a sigh out of his nose to calm himself down. "Skae… I'm… I'm so sorry I did this. Like I said, I just wasn't thinking. I was too blind in rage to think… And… I'm sorry for threatening you…"

"It's okay…" she whimpered. "It happens…"

Joel released his grip on the she-wolf and sat up. After he stood up, Skae rubbed her wrists to try and ease the pain in them.

Joel noticed her discomfort and frowned. "Skae… Did I hurt you?"

"I'm fine," she said unconvincingly. Joel took that answer as a no and sat back down on the couch, tentatively taking Skae's paws in his hands. Even through the thick fur, he could still see bruises forming already.

"Wonderful," he said sarcastically, dropping her paws and letting his head fall back. "Now you hate me."

"Joel, I don't—"

"Don't lie to me Skae, I know you hate me now," Joel grunted, shutting his eyes. "I went off the deep end, and now we're all gonna get caught and be executed as soon as they find us. We're dead. It's my fault."

"I don't hate you Joel," Skae said in her soothing, soft-spoken voice. "I'm upset, yeah, but everyone makes mistakes. When you told me you weren't thinking about consequences, I understood. You just wanted to vent that anger. I honestly would be no different if I were in your shoes."

"Sure," Joel grunted.

"Joel, you do realize it would take a lot to get me to hate you?" Skae tried to smile. "What you have… I would be stupid to pass up. You're everything my culture looks at in a partner. Strong, dedicated, talented… plus a little bit of that insanity to top it all off for me."

Joel cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Everyone's crazy in their own little ways," Skae explained. "I'm the same way. As for you, you proved you're insane yesterday. But, at the same time, I would do the same. I overreacted myself as usual… …I'm sorry for smacking you around."

Joel smiled slightly and rubbed his face. "It's okay… I deserved it."

Skae giggled and scooted closer to him, rubbing shoulders with the human. "You sure did, you dumbass."

Joel tried to look hurt at the sarcastic comment she made. "Jeez, Skae, I said I was sorry."

"Who says I accepted your apology?" the she-wolf cooed, getting dangerously closer to him. Unable to think straight due to the emotional rollercoaster he just experienced, he didn't have any better judgement to stop her. He just let her muzzle get closer and closer to his face until her slightly wetted nose pressed against his stubbly cheek.

"What do I have to do to make you accept it?" he asked on impulse.

Smiling devilishly, Skae started licking his face with the tip of her tongue before her lips started rubbing against his own. Joel's dominant nature immediately became unleashed as a result, pouncing on Skae and making her fall back on her tail as Joel forcefully attacked her muzzle. The adrenaline stored as a result of the aftermath of their fight started to come out again as they both were drunken in each other's love and affection.

Skae started getting adventurous as she tried to get some of Joel's clothing off, but her drunkenness instantly stopped when she heard a knock at her door. Joel too recovered from his mindless affection and stood up, glancing back at the door.

"I'll go see who it is," he announced. "Don't worry. We'll finish this later."

Skae sighed dreamily as the Lieutenant made his way through the house and up to the front door. He unlatched the bolt Skae had put in place earlier, and as the door opened wide, his jaw did as well.

"Dad?"

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

 ** _All hell can't stop us now_**

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

"Well… shall we get to tonight's mission while everybody is here?" William grinned as he stepped to a table in the middle of the command room.

Wolf let out a rather anxious grin. "Sooner we take care of this, the sooner I can get home to my wife."

"Ah, so big Wolfie has a mate to come home to?" William lightheartedly taunted. "I didn't think you had it in ya."

Wolf smirked and pulled up his transmitter screen, immediately locating a professional photograph of his light copper husky wearing her very skimpy set of training gear—just a small black sports bra and a pair of similarly colored shorts that covered just a third of her upper legs. She stood in her combat stance—both paws balled and her arms curled up to optimize her mobility—but she still had that adorable smirk creasing her muzzle. Adding to the already serene beauty of the photo, her luxurious cinnamon textured hair flowing down past her waistline—easily exceeding four feet in length—shimmered in the artificial light of the studio she was posing in.

William's jaw immediately dropped. "Holy shit! She's yours?!"

Wolf nodded proudly. "Name's Sheila. We were in the academy together years back."

William whistled and gently grabbed Wolf's wrist to get a better angle at the stunning picture. "Damn Wolf… …Shit dude if I had that I'd be giving her a good time every night."

"Well, she's got a little pup in the oven right now," Wolf smiled. "It took us a while though."

"Damn, what took you so long, eh?" he said in disbelief. "I'd be boning her every night if I had someone _that_ beautiful."

"Uh, Will?" Wolf started, glancing over the other lupine's shoulder.

William started chuckling as he studied every inch of the husky. "I mean, just look at those curves! And that beautiful hair! She is just the picture of beauty. You are one lucky son of a bitch."

"Will…?" Wolf couldn't help but chuckle at the frame slowly approaching behind him.

"And how does someone that beautiful and that flawless fall for an ugly bugger like you?" William narrowed his eyes. "I mean, look at you… and then look at this fabulous piece of tail right here! Seriously Wolf, this is probably one of the most stunning women I've ever see—"

William's thought was abruptly terminated when a hard slap came across the back of his head. He immediately went into combat mode and assumed a fighting stance as he turned around, only to get a full view of Rebekka with her arms crossed and half of her vulpine muzzle smirking at him. She started tapping her foot against the ground, making William blush furiously.

"Behind you of course," William tried to add, only increasing the sarcastic smile his wife was giving him. His ears folded back as he grabbed the back of his neck. "I'm sleeping on the couch tonight, aren't I?"

Wolf bit his lip to prevent himself from laughing aloud as Rebekka smugly smiled and nodded. As William's expression dropped faster than a rock in water, the sandy brown vixen approached the armored lupine and outstretched her paw.

"You must be Wolf," she smiled as Wolf accepted her paw gently. "It's very nice to meet you. I'm Rebekka, Will's wife."

"It's a pleasure," Wolf smiled back, glancing over at his brother. "And you're saying my wife's smokin'?"

Rebekka smirked again, unnoticeably blushing. "Aren't you a charmer…"

"I try," Wolf chuckled, watching as William came back around and wrapped his arms around her stomach. "And I see you two are happy together."

"Couldn't be happier," William replied, sneaking a kiss on her cheek.

"She a member of your Ghosts?"

"No, but she does know how to hold her own," the other lupine explained. "Even though she isn't enlisted, we train together. We met when I was charged with taking care of a gang that was threatening her family, and funny enough one of the members thought I was you."

"Huh," Wolf smirked. "Did they realize that you weren't as good looking as I was?"

William smirked back and shook his head. "Good to know you haven't changed bro…"

"Alright, can we get this rundown finished please, Will?" Laura complained, crossing her arms.

Will sighed and approached the screens in the center of the room. With a short command, the screens immediately lit up with information. "Okay, now their deal location is about twenty miles from the edge of town. Strangely enough, with the information given to us by the VGC, it made it easy to locate them."

He pointed at a portion of the map. "The target is a small distribution complex right here. It's been closed for a few years due to lack of funding just like plenty of buildings around this area, and just like the rest of these buildings as well they used to be bandit hideouts. As a matter of fact bandit activity has drastically decreased since these Darkonian rats made landfall. A lot of bandit gangs just disappeared since then."

"Perfect place to hide in plain sight…" Wolf commented.

"Not nearly perfect enough," Rikka countered, tapping the building in the middle causing the entire image on the table to become a three-dimensional hologram. "The target building is surrounded by buildings that are a few stories taller than it. That means that there are perfect sniper perches all around it, each one with a perfect view of the target building… and that also means they also make good guard towers."

"Great, so the high ground is a double-edged sword…" Laura grumbled.

"Not necessarily," William answered. "Our intelligence reports the _Maelstrom_ — Darkon's Destroyer—is a mile away, meaning their escape options are limited. As for their forces guarding the meeting, the report said the unit was small; a mix between Specialists and Berserkers."

Katt scratched her head in confusion. "I've been needing to ask about that—I've tried to study on Verian differences, especially on the Darkoni, and I just keep getting confused. What's the difference between a Specialist and a Berserker?"

Will's gaze turned to his brother, "Care to explain, Mister Guardian?"

Wolf smirked as all eyes transitioned to him. "First off, no Will, I'm not a Guardian yet. Yes, I said _yet_."

"You're getting the initiation rite?" Rebekka asked in disbelief.

"If this mission goes according to plan, I'll be inducted into the VGC as a Guardian," Wolf explained proudly. "Commandant Talen trusts me, and he convinced King Xiphos to organize an initiation ceremony just for me."

"Impressive," William remarked.

"Anyway," Katt interrupted. "Wolf?"

"Right," the lupine grunted. "Specialists have higher intelligence, enabling them to operate ships, fighters, more complex weaponry including sniper rifles, as well as being able to serve as engineers and mechanics. As for Berserkers, they are basically mindless warriors that only think about four things: serving their master, killing, eating, and fucking."

The last little tidbit made the four women in the room cringe slightly. Rikka was the one brave enough to speak up. "So, what you're saying is those freaks are just flat out stupid?"

"Basically," Wolf nodded.

"Explains what happened to the gangs," Rebekka inferred. "Why _anyone_ would use a soldier that is in such a primal state is beyond me… You have your work cut out for you."

Dingo grunted. "If this goes belly up, the men are dead… and the women—"

"Worse than dead," the pink feline finished.

"Which means we need a good plan of action to prevent that," Laura remarked.

"Ok, so here's an idea," Wolf started, drawing all the attention. "We hot drop down onto the roof of the building."

"No," William countered damn near instantly. "That wouldn't work. The snipers would pick us off the moment we set foot on the building."

Rikka looked at the holographic map of the complex, noticing the five tall buildings around the central operation room were in a star pattern. It gave her an idea.

"How about this… We go in on the ground and plant Laura and Katt in the tower here." She pointed to the roof of building furthest to the north which turned red as she touched the marker. "Secure it and—"

"And quietly neutralize the snipers in the other buildings to blind their eyes," Laura finished.

"Right," Rikka nodded. "Now, uh, sorry guys, but you have the hard part. Using the OC generators to hide, you move though the camp between the outer buildings and the central building to get into position—completely disregarding what the Berserkers are doing—but you may have to silence a few sentries although the others probably would be so full of themselves or into what they're doing to notice." The red-tailed hawk resisted the urge to shutter as she pointed again. "After the camp, your team will then split off. Two will scale up to the roof and repel though the skylight of the room were the deal is being held, while the other two enter the building and block off any escape routes so the only way out is the entrance covered by Laura and Katt. On signal, we burst in and force them into the shredder."

"Sounds… simple enough." Katt forced out.

"That's easy for you to say!" Dingo yipped. "You're not the ones going through the camp of massive, bulked up, blood thirsty dragons!"

"Quit your complaining," Laura snapped. "At least you have adequate backup with Will and Wolf!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Katt growled. "Are you saying I'm not good enough for you?"

"I would have preferred Will as a spotter since he actually knows what he's doing," the falcon countered.

"Enough!" William snarled, immediately calming them down. "Chance has been cleared for duty by HQ, as in he finally got over the shit he had, so we're running one heavy—which suits me just fine. It means we have our gunner. If shit hits the fan, we deal with it, but above all else those fuckers do not get away!"

"Agreed," Wolf said calmly, patting his brother's shoulder in an attempt to level his anger. "Anyway, there's someone I want you to meet that will help us with this mission. Will, if you don't mind?"

William stepped away so Wolf could input a few commands. In less than a minute, the screen at the head of the room flickered to life as a few lines of connecting data appeared on a blue screen before a familiar arctic fox popped up with a stern, yet inviting look on his face.

"Guys, I'm assuming you've met Vince?" Wolf announced.

"Yeah, I've met the Ghosts already," Vince answered tiredly. "Anyway, I'm assuming you need intel?"

"As much as you have little buddy," Dingo grinned. "We need everything we can get."

Vince's expression surprisingly didn't change as he looked down at his screens. "Well… good news and bad news… Good news is all seven primary targets are at the deal."

"And the bad?" William asked. He always hated bad news.

"The first bit isn't too bad, but it's still a complication," he started, displaying a picture of a dark blue female on screen along with a file he began to read aloud with his own words thrown in here and there. "Cynthia Brynt: bodyguard and appointed second in command of Aeon Darkon's operations. Information from the family seems to suggest that this position is not really what it is… considering how the fifth house treats women."

"What's the complication with her?" Wolf inquired. "She looks just like another target."

"She's not a target," the researcher clarified. "She's an HVI to be captured alive."

William scowled as he read the file on screen. "That is a complication… How is she high value? She has attempted regicide on her file."

"So **_she_** is the one that got too close," Wolf couldn't help but laugh. "No wonder Jona is how he is. She's the one that almost killed him after their little romp years back."

Vince cleared his throat and continued, "But that's not too bad, just like I said. However, _this_ is worse. Thanks to the Papetoon communications network we got a good fix on the area, that's obvious… unfortunately we flagged another VGC TRCS besides Wolf's." The file on Cynthia was replaced by a VGC record, as well as an image displaying a Guardian in armor. On the file was a red stamp marked "Deserter", and was set to be executed for treason. "Disavowed Knight Lieutenant Brute Curnow; formerly of House Halrand; favors heavy armor and a war hammer."

"Oh fuck," Wolf growled

Are you kidding me?" William spat at the same time of Wolf's groan.

"Unfortunately no… Heh, as a matter of fact Knight Commander Falx had a rage fit when we told him," Vince chuckled slightly but immediately slipped back into his usual serious state. "Wolf… Jona wants him dead. If he's actually there at the time of the assault, do not hesitate to bring him down."

"We'll do what we can Vince…" Wolf informed him. "Aeon is our main target."

"I understand that, and so does Jona," Vince nodded. "He just wanted me to pass the information. At any rate, I'll relay information to Rikka while you're in the field, and hopefully any adjustments we can make will help keep you alive long enough to achieve your mission."

"Thanks Vince," Wolf tried to keep a straight face.

Vince let out a slight sigh and shuffled some papers in his grasp off-screen. "One thing Wolf… just… come back buddy… we all need you here."

"No promises," Wolf threw some humor into the situation. "Tell Sheila to keep the bed warm for me."

Vince smirked. "That's the Wolf I know. Good luck out there."

With that the screen blinked off. William cracked his knuckles and adjusted his vest.

"Well complications aside we have a plan," he said, trying to be optimistic.

Katt scoffed. "Considering that we have to sneak through a camp full of deranged thugs to kill seven men, a corrupt Guardian, and abduct an assassin… What could possibly go wrong?"

William cleared his throat. "Get some rest ladies. We need you at one-hundred for this mission."

As the room slowly started to file out, the brown eyed lupine gently set his paw on Wolf's armored shoulder and sighed. "It's great to finally see you again," he said thoughtfully. "I… I thought I'd never see you again."

"I thought all of my family was dead," Wolf admitted. "You're far from it, by the looks of it."

William chuckled. "I could be better."

"We all could," Wolf responded, patting the smaller lupine's shoulder. "Brother."

William smiled. "So, whad'ya say bro? Ready to kick some tail?"

Wolf laughed aloud and brought William in for a strong bear hug of sorts, somewhat hindered by his impenetrable armor. As soon as he released his brother, the soon-to-be Guardian nodded and cracked his neck loudly.

"Don't get too cocky, William."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

 ** _All hell can't stop us now_**

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

The only surviving heir to the Darkonian "throne" Aeon Darkon fell victim to yet another sleepless night. Anticipation. The anticipation of what was to happen next. It was so close to his plans. They were all falling into place just like they were drawn up to.

Yet, as Aeon laid in bed, staring at the blank ceiling, contemplating his actions over the years… he wondered if it was all worth it. The fame. The authority. The power. Was it all worth what he was bringing to the table? Was it worth dismembering not one, not two, but _three_ entire civilizations just to get the power he always wanted?

Truth be told, he finally admitted to himself that it wasn't.

But he was also convinced that there was no redemption for what he had done. He was right to. Looking back at the heartless hell he forced his entire army into, and the struggle it caused for everyone else, there really was no out. Why would there be an out?

At least, he had it planned to get an out. He had yet another plan. Ingenious, it was. But risky too. As in… if one thing didn't fall into place, the entire plan would go up in smoke, and so would his entire line.

Jona and Talen was out for his blood and they were going to get it… But that didn't matter to him. His father's dreams of an empire under Darkonian rule were long gone, and he knew that evident fact well. Hell, he knew that fact ever since he was appointed to be the head of his father's fractured kingdom. At this point, he just wanted it to end. However, his—or rather his father's generals—weren't about to let that happen, even with their leader dead they would proceed according to his father's will.

So he planned this meeting. Leaked the information so the VGC knew where to strike. Planned a specific escape route to get out while shit hit the fan.

All to end it all.

All the failed attempts got him nowhere. Now, it was time to make his first successful attempt to get out of the hell he essentially buried himself alive in.

He had tricked Corneria into attacking Earth to try and expand and take a world for his people, but god did it fail miserably. Six years later he tricked the Terrans and Fichinans into attacking Cerinia—the jewel of the Verian Kingdom—to try and get Veria to strike out at Corneria, and again, another massive failure. Then things got out of his control when the Terrans took things into their own hands and assassinated General Jaeger. This were really getting out of his control, and there was no way to bring it back into order.

If shit didn't hit the fan now, it sure would soon. Way too soon. Now it was his time to get out… …While he still could…

What he became. What he believed in. What he wanted. They were all wrong. It took years of failure; years of blood, sweat, tears, and even more blood for the deranged and sadistic leader to admit his titles. He was just a clone of his father. Yet, he had the ambition. He had the dedication to carry it out for so long. However, he refused to believe he didn't have his father's spine to stick with his cause to the bitter end. For him, that bitter end was when Talen got the upper hand on his regime and killed his father right in front of him. That was the end. There was no rebirth.

A rebirth tried to birth itself. Yet, it can't survive if it can't be fed.

If there was one thing Aeon regretted, it was the fact that he had fallen victim to his father's, and moreover, his ancestor's will. Their limitless ambition to take Veris—no, the entire Lylat system for their own. Their unending and unrelenting desire to steal everything and claim it as their own, and nothing would get in their way. Not without a fight.

Aeon admitted he was a monster. Coming to terms with it would be a difficult process. Years of repenting and apologetics wouldn't save him from an apparent death sentence he and his regime would suffer if they were captured. Not to mention his own conscience wouldn't let him come to terms with an attempted conversion. He was a monster at heart, and nothing could change it.

Unless…

Letting a sigh out of his snout, he looked to the sleeping dragoness beside him and gently ran his clawed digits down her dark blue hide and her starkly white shoulder-blade length hair. Cynthia Brynt-Darkon stood beside him though it all. Every high and low. She did everything he told him to do as her role as one of his lead Lieutenants. She even tried to assassinate his half-brother Jona on his orders, though he didn't count on her falling in love with both brothers, both he and Jona. However, her hesitance gave her prospects for survival, as Jona wouldn't hurt her especially with her expecting with Aeon's only child now. He may still hold ill feelings, but nobody, especially Jona, would allow for an expecting female to be turned away, no matter the circumstances. No matter the list of crimes to her name.

This woman went through pure hell, as per House Darkon law stating that the females of their territory are to be open and submissive to their male counterparts at all times, mainly for pleasure and procreation. She was born to a female unknowing of the father (as are most house females), and was subjected to the abuse when she came of legal and moral age… Only she fought, defending herself and killing or castrating any male that dared to touch her. Aeon saw the fire and ferocity in her eyes and actions, therefore took her as his personal female, risking harm himself in just protecting her. Aeon had been with females because they had no choice, but it was only release… This female he loved, and love was an emotion that was considered a weakness among the house. His second in command died by her hand after he attempted to sexually assault her. Against the will and complaints of his generals he appointed her his new Lieutenant and bodyguard. It all fell into place from there.

Two years before he started yet another attempt to fulfil his late father's dream of destruction again, he placed a silver ring on her finger, symbolizing their union. That added yet another thing that infuriated his advisors, as marriage was forbidden and illegal in House Darkon. Women were a commodity to them, a source of pleasure and of breeding soldiers. They've continually plotted to kill them, and failed.

Now…

Now he has had enough.

Enough of the scheming.

Enough of the hell.

Enough of his monstrous father and his dead, ambitious will.

"Fuck it."

With that curse he slipped out of the grasp of his wife and out of bed, gathering his formal clothes and preparing for the meeting, knowing that it may be his last if things fail to uphold his plans.

"Aeon?" a tired, yet beautiful voice called from the bed.

"We need to get ready my love, they're expecting us," Aeon said softly, looking depressed as he pulled his arms through his sleeves.

Cynthia could tell something was wrong, judging by his actions and unpleasant aura. "Aeon… I know that look…"

"I'm done with this Cynthia," he deadpanned. "The failed plans, the attempts on our lives, my _so-called_ advisors trying to kill you every other day… I've had it." Aeon started to seethe as he sat back down on the bed.

Cynthia came up behind him, wrapping her slender, strong arms around him and pressing her breasts to his back in a very genuine and loving embrace. "Aeon… we accepted this fate when we mated… when you put this ring on my hand."

"I wanted to make you a queen… someone of high standing," he whispered. "I broke the laws of my house for you… and I have nothing to show for it. Nothing at all."

"You have me," she whispered to him as she gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"I intended to conquer a world to call ours," he growled. "Not because my father wanted me too. We could have a world to call out own and make our own laws… but now…"

"You want a world to call our own?" she giggled a little. "You are trying too hard Aeon, we don't need all that… all we have to do is settle down somewhere far away, where no one can find us. Just you, me, and the little one." Cynthia nuzzled him, gently rubbing her slightly bulged stomach. "Why don't we do that? If the VGC catches us, we just give up… no more fighting."

Aeon had to smile, but it wasn't that of a vindictive sociopath like everyone claimed him to be. It was a genuine and innocent smile, a loving one most of all. "Alright," he agreed, then immediately frowned. "But we got to deal with the Circle first… if we don't we're dead anyway, and they would make me watch as they ravage you to death. I don't wish that on you."

"I'll be alright Aeon, you know me," Cynthia smiled slightly.

"I know _you_ would be," Aeon shifted carefully to face her. "But promise me something Cynthia."

"Anything."

Aeon sighed, visibly conflicted. "If anything happens to me during this meeting… this hit… Take my journals, my records, and recordings… …and flee to Antigone. Contact Jona—despite the history between you two—and ask for his help. He will protect you."

"Aeon, no, please don't make me promise that!" she protested, clutching his arms.

"You have too, for the baby's sake," Darkon argued, biting back to keep from shouting. "If they find out they WILL kill you!"

Cynthia's eyes started tear up. Outside the bedroom she was a ruthless assassin, Aeon's personal bodyguard, cold, and practically emotionless. In private, however, she was like any other woman with thoughts and feelings. This wasn't something she could take on.

"Cynthia, please promise me!" Aeon pressed, tightening his own hold on her.

"I can't!" she almost shouted.

"You must do this for me," he said. "You must Cynthia. Please. You can't let them catch you. You must find Falx. He's the only one that would help you."

"Aeon, I can't," she sobbed. "I want to stand by you."

"I'm sorry my love, but I can't let you do that," Aeon said calmly. "I know you love me, but if you loved me you would do as I request of you. Take my documents, secure them to the best of your abilities, and then find Jona. Please. He is the only one that would take you in and keep you from facing the same fate I will."

Cynthia only partially nodded, letting more tears stream from her eyes.

"Cynthia…"

"Hmmm?"

He gave her a quick kiss on her lips, smiling the entire time.

"If something happens… promise me you will stay safe..."

Cynthia seemingly fought with herself for a while before returning the kiss.

"I… I will…"

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

 _Ever since I could remember  
Everything inside of me  
Just wanted to fit in  
I was never one for pretenders  
Everything I tried to be  
Just wouldn't settle in_

 _If I told you what I was  
Would you turn your back on me?  
And if I seemed dangerous  
Would you be scared?  
I get the feeling just because  
Everything I touch isn't dark enough  
That this problem lies in me_

 _I'm only a man with a candle to guide me  
I'm taking a stand to escape what's inside me  
A monster, a monster  
I've turned into a monster  
A monster, a monster  
And it keeps getting stronger_

 _Can I clear my conscience  
If I'm different from the rest?  
Do I have to run and hide?  
I never said that I want this  
This burden came to me  
And it's made its home inside_

 _If I told you what I was  
Would you turn your back on me?  
And if I seemed dangerous  
Would you be scared?  
I get the feeling just because  
Everything I touch isn't dark enough  
That this problem lies in me_

 _I'm only a man with a candle to guide me  
I'm taking a stand to escape what's inside me  
A monster, a monster  
I've turned into a monster  
A monster, a monster  
And it keeps getting stronger_

 _*Imagine Dragons – Monster*_


	15. Imminent Catastrophe (Part 1)

**A/N: I don't have much to say this time, other than extending my apologies for leaving this un-updated for a while. However, I believe I made up for my absence with this, and I encourage you all, guest or returning member, to drop a review and tell me what you think. I... don't have a definitive direction after a given point, so... feedback is greatly encouraged at this point.  
**

 **My last point before I let you loose; Elarix—the winner of the contest H and I hosted a while back—has agreed to rewarding terms that I think all of you should know. Effective as of his next chapter, I will be co-authoring with him while we tackle the next arc of his story "The Hunting Party". It is honestly a must read at this point. Such a great story, and the humor presented in it is an A plus. It may be a long read (definitely not compared to this encyclopedia of a fanfiction here) but it is definitely worth your time. Please, get caught up on it now so that when the next chapter comes out, you're ready. Also, be a bunch of awesome buds and drop him some favs, follows, and reviews too. His work deserves it.  
**

 **Plus, it might be fun to see what he has in store for this next arc. ;)  
It also might be fun to see if you can spot that Sheppard style in his work; implying Elarix doesn't destroy my beautiful work... Jokingly, of course.**

 **Take care fellas; here's the last update until Elarix and I are finished with THP's arc. Direct all of your attention to The Hunting Party until further notice. :)**

* * *

 _A sinking ship, an awkward kiss  
A chance to set things straight  
The kind of hurt that burns and burns  
Like fires we can't contain  
We hole up in a shelter made  
Of bones and ice and then we'll wait  
So start again with steady hands  
This time nothing gets in our way  
But as we peer a little closer, what do we see?_

 _A crack in the surface, a flaw in the plan  
Plans we made together almost buried in the sand  
A cadence imperfect like a building condemned  
Can we indemnify ourselves if we don't face what we're against?_

 _*Rise Against – Hairline Fracture*_

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Imminent Catastrophe (Part 1)**

* * *

Without even thinking, Fox McCloud absentmindedly strolled down the line with his tray in paw, occasionally grabbing a few appealing morsels and tossing them onto his tray in an organized, yet jumbled mess. After he finished piling his tray, he swiped the card hooked on his lanyard to register his meal, then was let loose into the large mess hall.

He immediately located Falco and Bill sitting at a circular table towards the middle of the room and decided to sit with them, but once he approached he saw that the mood plaguing the table was strikingly tense and uncertain. Hesitantly laying his tray on the table, Fox broke the silence with an awkward clear of his throat.

"Hey guys," Fox said as happily as he could.

"S'up Fox," Falco replied distantly, not looking up from his tray.

"What's wrong Fal?" the vulpine questioned.

Simultaneously, both the falcon and the pit-bull produced pale pink slips of paper and slammed them against the table in such a way that it was a wonder if they had rehearsed it beforehand. Fox pulled on them both and slid them closer to his awaiting eyes.

"Mandatory call to arms," Bill grumbled. "It's official."

"Muzzin's declared war?" Fox asked in disbelief.

"And he's ordering a counteroffensive within two days," Bill continued, pulling his paper back.

"We're finished," Falco added, throwing his fork onto his tray in frustration. "Say goodbye, Fox. We won't see you ever again."

"Don't talk like that Falco; you'll be fine," Fox argued.

"Says the guy who isn't fighting!" Falco retorted. "You can say that because you don't have to fight against them. They can pick us to shreds given the chance."

"A one-sided war," Bill remarked.

"So, what, you're just gonna assume you're dead?" Fox questioned. "Where's your optimism?"

"Up Muzzin's ass," Falco grunted.

"The Verians have an honor code, you guys. They won't massacre you as long as you don't resist. Let them take you prisoner. It's better than being torn to shreds."

"Or they could be master executioners that put on that mask of the "Defenders of Lylat" bullshit," the avian countered.

"Falco, Wolf would be dead right now if they were lying," the vulpine argued, laying his elbows on the table. "It's your best bet."

"Our best bet is not even showing up for this garbage," the pit-bull snorted. "You think I'm kidding? I ain't showing up for a massacre. Not gonna happen."

"You'd be better off in custody here than in Veris," Falco nodded his head. "At least you're on home soil."

"And they can't execute you for resisting military ordinances," Bill shrugged. "Most you'd get would be time in prison."

"Guys, guys, guys, just stop this already," Fox interrupted, starting to get a little impatient.

"Then what else are we supposed to do, Einstein?" Falco squawked. "We can't go out there."

"But you can refuse to fight when you are."

"And what good'll that do us when we're pickin' a fight, eh?" the avian snapped back. "They'll mow us down just like any other hostile. Face it Fox, this is the last you'll see of us."

Fox growled at him and attempted to retort, only to be cut off when two fuzzy arms wrapped around him tightly, accompanied by the sound of soft sobbing. The vulpine immediately spun around to see the crying figure, only to have his heart melt at the sight of his now expecting girlfriend.

"Arcy, baby, what's wrong?" Fox asked concernedly, pulling Arcene into his lap as she buried her muzzle into his coat. He sat there in concerned silence, petting the back of her head to try and calm her down so that she could explain.

All she did, however, was reveal the same slip of paper the other two males at the table had.

"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding," Fox snarled through clenched teeth.

"Whoa, Fox, bud—" Falco started only to receive a glare from the now livid red fox.

"Did they not take your physical at all?" Fox nearly roared. "This is unacceptable!"

"Fox, she's registered military," Bill explained.

"She's pregnant, Bill," Fox countered in his state of rage. "They cannot send an expecting female into combat like this! It's against combatant regulations."

"You got her pregnant?" the blue avian questioned. "Heh, damn dude you need to keep those hormones under control—"

"Falco," Bill grunted, silencing the avian in question. He turned to the orange vulpine, who had calmed himself considerably and held the silver vixen in his arms, hugging her tightly to try to calm her down. "Fox, you can't let her fight."

"No shit," Fox growled, kissing the vixen's forehead. "She's not."

"Fox, I don't have a choice," the pitiful vixen whimpered.

"Not if I can help it," the vulpine argued. "I don't care what stupid rules that pathetic excuse for a Prime Minister comes up with; you are not going out there and fighting."

"It's not my choice to make," Arcene cried, staring at Fox's blazing emerald eyes.

"I know; it's mine," he said sternly, snatching the silver vixen's pink ordinance paper and ripping it straight down the middle, not breaking eye contact with her.

"Fox—"

"It's not worth risking our kit," Fox said adamantly, gently moving his paws down to her midsection. "Not after all we've been through. You're staying here with me."

Arcene sniffled, a few tears welling up in her orange eyes.

"As long as I'm standing here with you they will not force you out to fight," Fox continued firmly, keeping his tight hold on the vixen. "Not when we're starting our family. Not when you're expecting our kit. No."

Staring into his eyes, Arcene started to smile. It started weak, but eventually grew to the point where her muzzle couldn't hold the entirety of her happiness. She eventually broke down and forced the orange vulpine into an extremely passionate kiss, one that Falco and Bill—out of common courtesy—turned away whilst snickering to each other.

After quite a while they both backed away, panting and gasping for breath. Once the two others heard their gasping for air, they turned back around and shook their heads at the couple teasingly, while Falco fought to hold his composure.

"No wonder you got her pregnant," Falco fought through laughter. "Arcene caused it all, the little dominant she is."

Fox blushed slightly, only increasing the bird's laughter.

"Anyway, congrats you two," Falco said, losing his taunting tone. "Seriously. Grats."

"You two truly make a perfect couple," Bill added, winking at the duo.

"Thanks you guys," Fox chuckled sheepishly, blushing even more. "I… I'm still speechless."

"I think you'd make a great father, Fox," Bill remarked with a smile.

"He's already got the jokes for it," Falco commented, meriting a round of chuckling as well as a backpaw from the gray canine.

"Thank you Bill," Fox grinned back, pressing his cheek against Arcene's same. "Means a lot to me."

"Just make sure you and Arcy take care of that kit of yours, m'kay?"

"Oh, don't worry," Fox assured, pecking Arcene's muzzle playfully. "We will."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

General Todd McClellan let out a deep, mirthful laugh at the sight of his son, immediately stepping through the doorframe to embrace Joel warmly as well as to get out of the bitterly cold climate. He kicked the door shut after releasing his kid, then dusted the powdery snow off of his thick, insulating arctic camo coat.

"Ah, it's so good to see you're in one piece, Joel," Todd smiled, removing his snow-covered gloves from his hands. "I was starting to get worried for a while."

"Good to see you too dad," Joel replied with false assurance, forcing a smile in return. "Did you just touch down?"

"About an hour ago, yeah," Todd answered, tossing his gloves onto the nearby counter. "Along with about two thousand of our finest men, ten full-sized Destroyers, and enough toys to keep those Cornerian dogs busy for the rest of their short lives."

Joel's heart dropped into his stomach. "Oh… that's awesome," he choked out, avoiding eye contact by glancing at the floor.

"Ain't it?" Todd chuckled loudly, stripping of his heavy coat and insulating winter hat. "We've got an army, and with what you, your team, and the Fichinians have done already, we're one step closer to our ultimate goal. We can finally finish these dirty dogs off."

"Right," Joel mumbled in false agreement. He looked over his shoulder and saw Skae slowly approaching, then slightly crossed his fingers as her footsteps became progressively louder.

Todd also saw the she-wolf walking up to them, gently nudging Joel and whispering at him. "Who is this?"

Joel glanced up at Skae and grinned. "Oh, dad, this is my partner; Commander Skae Rhen. Skae, this is my father; General McClellan."

"I've heard a lot about you sir," Skae smiled, holding out her paw which Todd tentatively accepted in a gentle shake. "We're very lucky to have you."

Todd still couldn't get over looking at an anthropomorphized white wolf such as herself, so all he did was nod and awkwardly retract his hand. She then transitioned her gaze to Joel and cocked her head in confusion.

"So, what now Joel? You've got your reinforcements."

"I don't know," Joel answered frankly. "We just need to strategize our next course of action."

"And what would that be?" she asked, approaching the table and the Lieutenant.

"We've got some more people on their way here, if you don't mind us using your home as a base for strategizing, Miss Rhen," Todd explained.

"Fine by me," she smirked, then much to Joel's dismay she planted a huge, wet kiss on his cheek before slowly backing away. "I'm going to get cleaned up real quick. Don't do anything without me, m'kay?"

Joel only let out a grunt of approval as her wildly flicking tail disappeared inside the bathroom doorframe. As soon as the door shut, Joel felt his collar get yanked by the larger man in the room.

"What the hell was that?" Todd questioned through clenched teeth.

"Dad—"

"Did that _thing_ just kiss you?" the General growled.

"Dad, just let me expla— _ah_!"

Todd jerked his collar harshly and practically slammed him up against the wall, his anger coursing through his veins. Joel tucked inward in defense, afraid of potentially being beaten by his superior officer — something he dreaded ever since joining the force. However, when nothing happened, he lifted his head out of his makeshift defense and looked at his father, who in a matter of seconds seemed to flip into a completely different person.

Todd released Joel's shirt with a faint push, then immediately frowned. "Talk."

Joel, for whatever reason, couldn't find the words to say. Luckily, Todd saw that he was struggling and attempted to ease him out of that shell.

"Skae, was it?" he asked softly, to which Joel nodded.

"She was your partner on those missions?"

Joel nodded again.

Todd sighed and scratched at his forehead before slowly inching closer to his son, being as careful as he could to not make his son feel uncomfortable.

He set a large hand over his son's shoulder. "What happened between you two?"

Joel shrugged. "She saved my ass a few times. I saved hers. I don't know… It… just seems like we're paying each other back."

Todd raised an eyebrow. "She in love with you?"

Joel, for a third time now, nodded his head in affirmation.

"And…" he started, evidently struggling with his own words. "Are… you okay with it?"

Joel bit his lower lip. "It does feel nice to have someone love you even after all you put them through. To think we were going to slaughter them if they weren't welcoming… …It feels weird falling in love with a supposed enemy—a different specie no less."

"Are you in love with her?" Todd gently asked.

Despite his hesitance and reluctance to admit it, Joel eventually said, "You're probably going to hate me for saying this, but I am."

Todd let a sigh escape his nose. "You… and her?"

"I'm sorry dad, I know how much you don't like them—"

"Don't be sorry Joel," Todd interrupted, turning his head away from his son. "I don't want to get in the way. But… I have to ask…" he turned back to face him, a questioning expression covering his face. "What is it you see in her?"

Joel let a miniscule grin surface. "She's got skill. Lots of it. She's got that ruthless side to her. Yet, away from combat, she's… very relaxing and soothing. She just makes me feel safe… being in an alien world, I feel safe around her. We talked for hours after our first mission, and not once did she complain or make me feel uncomfortable. I'll admit, I was attracted to the way she handled herself in combat, but once she showed that tender and compassionate side… that was all it took. That night we stayed up and talked… we woke up in each other's arms."

After a momentary pause to contemplate what Joel said, Todd grinned back. "Sounds like your mother," he chuckled, but immediately quashed that mirthful moment by staring at Joel after his expression faded into slight disapproval. "Well, Joel… I'm not mad at you… but I'm not happy with you either."

Before Joel could protest, Todd started pacing slowly around the room with his hands in his pockets. "To be frank, Joel, you know what this is? This is you letting your guard down in enemy territory. You are trusting these creatures way too much."

"Dad—"

"You're softening up, and as soon as you think things couldn't get any better they turn on you," Todd started to seethe quietly. "I don't care what story you tell me, they are still part of the problem here. I don't trust them, and neither should you."

"What are you talking about?" Joel interrupted.

"Your assassination mission on Corneria, where one of your team members turned and gave your position away," Todd growled. "I was informed of that by the senator here. And from the information they intercepted earlier today, he's organizing a meeting with a Verian officer to potentially give us away. He backstabbed us."

"He snapped under pressure," the Lieutenant argued. "He didn't willingly betray us."

"Then explain to me why he organized that meeting, and tell me he isn't going to give us away. He's just another member of the filthy, flea-bitten Lylatian population that would turn on a dime to make a quick buck or satisfy their desires. And the fact that you are falling for one of those creatures is incredibly upsetting."

"You just said that—"

"Skae is nothing more than a wolf with tits that wants to sleep with you just so that she can kill you when you least expect it," Todd deadpanned, crossing his arms. "I don't trust her."

"She would have done it by now if that was the case!" Joel snapped.

Todd's face suddenly turned irate. "Did you fuck that wolf already?"

"Hell no," Joel scoffed. "I'm not ready for that commitment yet."

"YET?" Todd practically shouted. "What are you thinking man?"

"I'm _thinking_ that I'm the only person that she has ever truly cared about," Joel retorted. "I've done a lot of stupid shit while I've been here, but Skae has always been right there beside me. She won't leave my side, and to be frank, I won't leave hers. We're in this fight together."

"You're putting your heart into the wrong thing," Todd commented. "You seem to have forgotten that they don't matter. Nobody on this god-forsaken snowball matters. As soon as Corneria and everyone on it gets what they deserve and are nothing but dust, we leave them behind. That includes your _literal_ bitch."

Joel shook his head and gave his father a menacing stare.

 **"No!"**

Todd's eyes opened wide.

"You know what? No! I'm not leaving her behind!" Joel shouted, oblivious to the female white wolf slowly poking her frame out of the hallway and listening intently to the conversation. "You always tell me to find the right companion; one that will stay beside me through the hardest moments and will never cease to love me, and I've finally found her. Skae and I have only known each other for less than a week, and I already know for a fact that she and I will never leave each other. Nothing you tell me will change my mind or hers."

Todd stood there in silence, unable to contemplate what he just heard. Eventually, Skae overcame her hesitance and made herself known by slowly sliding up alongside Joel and immediately nuzzling up to him, purring softly as he wrapped his arm around her.

"I had my doubts at first, but I realized that even though they look different than us, they sure don't act different," Joel explained, rubbing at Skae's shoulder fluff. "Not all of them are bad."

The General let a sigh out of his nose and glanced at the she-wolf under his arm. "Is this true?"

"Yes, sir," Skae replied. "Your son is telling the truth. All of it is true."

Giving a forced nod to her, he transitioned his glance back to Joel. After a momentary awkward silence, he looked at him dead in the eye and spoke in a terribly shaky voice.

"Are you happy with her, Joel?"

Joel raised an eyebrow.

"Does she make you happy?" Todd asked, practically spitting out the words.

"Yes," the Lieutenant answered. "She does."

Suppressing the glare that found its way on his face almost instantly, General McClellan turned to face the opposite window and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Then who am I to get in the way…?"

"Dad—"

"If she makes you happy, Joel, then I won't get in your way," he deadpanned. "I can't speak for what you feel. I don't want to force you to do something you're not willing to do, as your father. It's been a long time since I've seen true love like this before, unfortunately. You do what you want to do, Joel. I can't tell you otherwise."

Joel let a small grin surface. "Thank you—"

"But that doesn't mean you can drop everything to stay with her," Todd interrupted. "You have an assignment. You and her."

"This have to do with Spencer?" Joel asked. "The traitor?"

"If that's his name, then yes," he nodded. "He's hiding out on a Verian orbital base and is trying to organize a meeting with their officials. He knows too much. If he gives away our position and our intel, we're in deep shit."

"So this is an abduction mission?" Skae questioned curiously.

"Smart girl," Todd chuckled briefly. "Abduction, or neutralization. Whatever you need to do. This _Spencer_ can't give us away."

"I'm assuming you want the both of us to go in there and find him?" Joel grunted.

"As a matter of fact I do. Ironically, you two need to blend in as a sightseeing couple to avoid drawing suspicions. Enroth has already organized everything from your overnight accommodations to the transportation there. Everything should go according to plan with what both he and I have done already. Although, like all missions… there is always a backup plan in case something goes wrong…"

"What is it?"

Todd sighed and looked down at the floor. "It pains me to say it, but if you two are not successful within ninety-six hours, as in if your position is compromised or the information is leaked, we have no choice but to destroy the station."

"What?" Skae and Joel both shouted.

"Enroth's orders," Todd grunted. "I didn't want to agree, but, Joel… I'm sorry…"

"Don't be," he interrupted. "We won't need those four days. We'll get him."

Todd finally smiled. "That's my boy." He glanced over at the she-wolf. "Could we get a moment, Miss Rhen?"

"It's Skae, sir," the wolf giggled. "And yes. I'll get my belongings packed for this trip."

As soon as Skae left earshot, Todd approached Joel and lowered his voice considerably. "Joel… I know you put the mission first, and I have utter confidence that you can apprehend Spencer within a day, but… for your sake, take it slow."

"What do you mean?" Joel asked, completely confused.

"I know I just blew up at you for falling for a furry like her," the General sighed, throwing himself down on one of the kitchen chairs. "But… you've shown me that you genuinely care for her. I've honestly never seen a loving bond so strong and prevalent before. She showed me the same thing to you."

He sighed again and rubbed at his forehead. "What I'm saying is that you two should take that first day of the operation and just lie low. I told you that you two needed to _act_ like a couple, but now I'm telling you two to _be_ a couple. Take her out to dinner. Buy her something nice. Just spend that time alone with her. Build on what you two have already started."

Before Joel could respond, he lifted himself out of the chair as his expression suddenly hardened. "Grow what you have. Don't let authority get in the way. Although I'm not too happy with you doing this… Joel, you're my kid. Whatever you fall in love with is okay with me. Your mother may not be happy with you in the slightest for falling for Skae, but… do what you want. Please."

Again, Todd sighed and outstretched his hand, to which his son accepted in a firm shake.

"Good luck on this mission," he said firmly. "And have fun with Skae. Make it your day away from the job for once."

"Thanks dad," Joel grinned.

"But," Todd's grip tightened. "You better take good care of her if you're truly in love with her. I don't want her coming back saying she hates you for something stupid you did. Treat her like a lady. Do not tell her no… unless she wants to get into your pants; then you can say no."

Joel snickered. "Don't worry."

Todd shook his head and returned the smirk. "I'm too young for grandkids."

"Implying we… ya know…"

The general laughed and lowered his voice, nudging the Lieutenant. "Can't hurt to find out, no?"

"You just told me not to, you hypocrite," Joel teased.

Todd chuckled again and sat back down. "Promise me you'll take care of her."

Joel nodded. "She's not leaving my side."

Once more, the older human gave Joel a reassuring smile.

"That's my boy. Just… please don't tell your mother."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Taking a sip of coffee from her mug, Rikka Jones readjusted her screens and systems to their optimal positions and frequencies so that she could get a better view of the surrounding area. She lowered the microphone attachment on her headset and poked the button on the side, making the attachment flash in activation.

"Willy Willy Willy," she snickered. "Another less than graceful entrance, as per usual."

Wolf held out his paw and lifted the smaller lupine off the ground after his knees buckled involuntarily when he hit the ground from the dropship jump. The larger lupine laughed quietly as William staggered to his feet and dusted the red-orange sand off of his uniform.

"Whatever," William growled. "I still get the job done. Chance, Dingo; you two alright?"

"Couldn't be better," Dingo sarcastically remarked.

"Affirmative," Chance's voice distorted the sound quality somewhat. "Assuming first positions. Ready to move in on your mark."

"Great," the lupine leader smirked. "Katt, Laura; you girls set up?"

"Will, I will _pay_ you to shut up for ten seconds," Laura whispered angrily. Before William could question her antics, he heard a faint, muffled **_pink_** , signaling that her customized rifle had been fired. Three or four faint **_pink_** s later, Laura finally responded in a much calmer voice. "Kay, we're secure. We've got a view on the main exit."

"Good job girls," William praised. "And Rikka, you've got our eye in the sky?"

The red-tailed hawk scoffed humorously. "Well you didn't bring me along for my charming personality."

"Clearly," William smugly fired back. He temporarily disengaged his commnet so he could speak directly with Wolf. "How are you bro? You ready?"

Wolf in response poked an option on his transmitter, not only lowering his tactical visor and making his violet eyes glow as the HUD rig activated, but making the tiny plates interlock with each other from the base of his neck to the base of his jawline, creating that impenetrable shield of Verian Guardian Armor around his most vulnerable areas.

William couldn't help but slightly gape at his equipment. "I have got to get me one of those."

Wolf smiled and gave him a nudge with the stock of his ACR. "Alright, split. I'll go right. Meet up at the deal location."

William nodded, and in one fluid motion he draped his coat of combat mesh over his body and disappeared into thin air. Wolf shook his head at his brother's cloaking suit, but eventually primed his kinetic rifle and pushed forward.

Staying against the adjacent building, he crouched low to the ground and kept his finger wrapped around the trigger as he put his head on a swivel. Other than the eerie spotlight-like lights that lined the perimeter of the industrial park from the towers overlooking the entire enclosure—giving the park the aura of a prison—the entire camp was dark and almost indistinguishable. Wolf touched another option on his transmitter, activating his night vision systems and tinting his visor a dull teal. His violet eyes seemed to glow along with the visor as they wandered around to take in his surroundings.

Being that it was an abandoned steel forgery, there were rusted steel beams and equipment littered all over the dusty, hard soil. Along with that were numerous empty crates stacked high, which Wolf used to his advantage and hid behind as he slowly encroached on his intended position.

His earpiece built into his helmet crackled to life with a familiar arctic fox's hushed, shaky voice. "Two Specialists on your three. Light armor."

Wolf put his paw over his face to conceal his words. "Can you create a distraction?"

"Already on it," Rikka butted in. "On go, you pounce. Three… Two… One…"

Wolf flicked the safety on the ACR off.

"Go."

As soon as Rikka said that, both Specialists in his view suddenly grabbed at their heads as loud radio static filled their ears. Wolf pounced just like the bird said, using his suppressed rifle to his advantage by launching two perfect shots right through the head and neck of one Darkoni. The other spun to face the lupine, only to be rewarded by a hefty tackle that brought him to the ground. Before he could yell out in pain, Wolf drew his blade and impaled the dragon's throat, immediately ceasing his grunts and causing a waterfall of red liquid to wash over his neck and onto the sandy ground. Wolf drew his blade from his enemy's body, cleaned it off with the dragon's uniform, and then sheathed it as he poked his transmitter again.

"Got 'em," Wolf announced quietly. "How's everyone holding up?"

William only grunted in reply, swiftly approaching another Specialist. Just like his engagement at the embassy earlier, the lupine forcefully yanked the Darkoni's head back as his jagged knife ripped across his jugular. The poor dragon had no idea of what had hit him until his lifeless corpse fell forward.

"I'm good over here," William whispered, cleaning off his blade. "They can't see me coming."

"Yeah, must be nice," Wolf sarcastically remarked, nimbly jumping up onto a shipping container out of the range of the spotlights. "I feel like I'm out in the open right now."

"That's because you are, _Guardian_ ," Laura squawked at him, before her faint, suppressed rifle rang out and picked off an unarmored Specialist standing at the end of the string of cargo containers Wolf was running on. "Would it kill you to be stealthier? That guy almost saw you!"

"Relax Laura," Dingo said calmly. "I can see Wolfie from here. He's got nobody around him."

"See?" Wolf smirked. "And only my wife calls me that Dingo. Unless you want to explain something?"

"Wha— no, I was just—"

"Surrreeee," Rikka cooed over the comms. "Shall I record this to show to—"

"Guys, a little too much chatter," William said firmly, silencing the radio lines almost instantly. "Chance, I just saw something I need you to take care of."

"Location?" the tabby cat called out.

"There's a sewer line directly underneath the complex," the smaller gray wolf explained. "It's drained, so that means these Darkoni rats have an extra escape route. I need you to move down and cover it."

"Ten-four," he answered. Dingo made a particularly whiny noise over the radio in response.

"You're killing me O'Donnell!" he practically shouted. "That's my six you just recommissioned."

"No, your six is right on my scope little doggy," Katt purred. "Don't worry. I've got your back."

"Quit your whining Dingo," Rikka moaned. "I'll kill your mic if you keep that up."

"Why can't you go five seconds without complaining?" Dingo growled.

"Oh, you're one to talk," the red tailed hawk retorted. "You're such a hypocrite, mister 'I don't want to go into a camp with rapist dragons'."

"That's enough you two," Wolf barked. "I can't concentrate with you two bickering over the— shit."

Wolf immediately hit the deck and went prone as two Darkoni Berserkers slowly trotted out of an enclosed area and started scanning the area. He rolled to the side silently, dropping off of the cargo containers with an almost inaudible thud with his insulated boots as he heard the grunts travel in the opposite direction.

"Way too close," Laura took the words right out of his muzzle. "I didn't want to give your position away."

"Thanks," Wolf said thoughtfully, regaining his stance with his weapon. "How far away am I Vinny?"

"Two more industrial blocks," Vince replied. "If you hurry you can be there in five minutes."

"Great," Wolf moaned, pulling his rifle back up as he rushed towards his next target.

 **\/~~◊~~\/**

"So, why is it that you have called us for a simple arms deal, Aeon?" One of the larger Darkoni-Verian dragons questioned as the leader in questioned stepped into the dull light of the old manufacturing facility. Almost instantly that same dragon started growling at the female following him. "And why is your whore here?"

"Mind your filthy mouth Grieg," Cynthia growled back.

"Just because you are Lord Aeon's bodyguard doesn't mean you get special treatment here," the dark gray dragon Grieg spat. "I will not be addressed like that by a breeder!"

Aeon gently held out his hand to restrain the navy blue dragoness from potentially creating a bloody mess of the evidently pissed off Circle member. He used his other hand to stroke the back of her head as he inched his snout near her ear.

"Easy, Thia," he whispered, giving her a gentle kiss for good measure as he pulled back away and glared at Grieg. "You know good and well not to antagonize her."

"You have no place to say anything, hatchling!" Grieg roared.

"Enough," one of the elder dragons breathed tiredly, scratching at his pure white beard. "Aeon, to spare his ranting, please."

Aeon sighed. "Very well Weiss," he said, turning to Cynthia and pecking her snout again. "Wait outside for me please."

"Stay safe my love," she whispered back, reluctantly leaving his side and out through the front entrance.

* * *

 _"That's her," Laura said over the radio. "Target HVI, front entrance. Will, get your furry ass over there and get her."_

 _"No, Will, wait," Wolf interjected through clenched teeth, fighting to keep his voice down. "We try to get her and the mission goes up in smoke. Wait until the barge in. Chance, change position to intercept."_

 _"Understood O'Donnell," the tabby answered firmly, but nasally—evidently still somewhat sick. "She's not getting away."_

 _"Rikka, get a tracker on her," Wolf added._

 _"Her transmitter isn't connected to the secure frequency in this area," the hawk groaned. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her."_

 _"Five minutes bro," William interjected. "Ready to show these overgrown lizards who's boss?"_

 _Wolf only chuckled in response._

* * *

"Now why are we here? Where are the weapons?" another asked, getting incredibly anxious.

"They'll get here," Aeon said surely. "Don't worry my friend."

"Are you so sure?" Grieg sneered, glancing around at the other members of the Circle. "That's not what the message he sent last week was about, wasn't it Aeon?"

 _Fuck_.

"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about," Aeon retorted.

"But I think you do," Grieg responded, drawing a large handgun and leveling it at the lead Darkoni. "Shall I explain why you wanted us all dead just to protect your precious slut?"

 ** _"Four."_**

"Are you that idiotic?" Darkon growled, drawing his own weapon. "Do you honestly think I would waste all of this planning to further our gains just to stab you all in the back?"

"It's not about that, you ignorant fool!" Grieg snarled. "You've broken the laws of your own house! What makes you think you can be trusted?"

"Yes, I broke the laws of my house. Yes, I've tied myself to Cynthia and yes I love her, but that has nothing to do with why we're here."

"Then why are you afraid?" Grieg pressed. "Surely the fearless leader of the eventual rulers of Veris Alpha wouldn't be caught dead fearing for his life. Oh, not his, but his filthy woman and his bastard child!"

 ** _"Three."_**

"Leave my family out of this you selfish ass!" Darkon barked. "This doesn't pertain to you!"

"It does when you've already informed the VGC of our whereabouts! Face it Aeon, you're a fucking traitor and you deserve to be put into your place!"

"You're nothing more than an ambitious tyrant, Grieg," Aeon growled. "My father should have killed you when he had the chance."

"Your father at least had the honor to finish what his ancestors started," the dragon growled right back, baring his teeth. "You… you're ruining our dynasty! We could have it all!"

 ** _"Two."_**

"Don't you understand that we've already lost?" Darkon retorted. "Face it, we've lost, and nothing we can do will fix it."

"I have a suggestion," Grieg smirked, turning to the Circle elder. "Kill this traitorous trash and continue with our plans."

"You won't even let us continue our own existence because all you see is what's in front of you," Aeon snarled. "So what if we can't conquer Veris? You fail to realize that there are other worlds we could easily take over and continue our dynasty."

"Your father should be ashamed of you," another Circle member piped in.

 ** _"One."_**

"My father was a fool, and so are all of you," Aeon pointed his free hand at Grieg. "And you! You think you're better than my father, don't you? You have something better in mind, you disgraceful—"

"Hold your tongue, hatchling!" Grieg roared again. "You are a disgrace to your father and your bloodline! You traitor! Your treachery ends here!"

"I spent my entire life living in my father's shadow, doing his bidding. This will be the first thing I do that's right."

 ** _"Bring 'em hell boys."_**

"Thia! _RUN_!"

Aeon pulled the trigger, launching a laser bolt that imbedded itself directly between Grieg's eyes, instantly felling the large dragon. No sooner did his corpse hit the ground, the windows exploded inward, showering the Circle with razor sharp shards of glass and debris. Wolf and William swung in from the roof, blindly firing at the group of Darkoni officials as they fell to the ground.

Darkon dropped his handgun and attempted to run, only to almost butt snouts with Wolf. One nasty forearm shiver later, Darkon was lying on his back, staring down the barrel of a huge kinetic rifle. He attempted to move, only to be frozen in fear when he saw the armor, the Royal Crest adorning the center of the armored figure's helmet, and the two glowing irises staring into his soul.

The demon prince.

Aeon wanted to speak but found his vocal chords not working. It wasn't him. But, good lord almighty did it look like him. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was literally frozen in fear.

While William effortlessly took care of the remaining Circle members, who—in their state of panic—tried to put up an adequate defense only for it to be knocked down by the lupine, Wolf smugly smirked at the trapped Darkoni and primed his rifle yet again. Darkon's eyes never left those glowing violet irises.

"What's the matter, scared?"


	16. Imminent Catastrophe (Part 2)

**A/N: Oops, when I updated this chapter I never realized that it never saved my formatting. Oh well, this'll be short and sweet.**

 **I just wanted to say thanks for supporting this as usual, and I also wanted to say that this next portion is going to get really fun. This "arc" if you can call it that, being the aftermath of the assassination, and everything up to this point here, was very slow to write. However, this next part I don't think will be that difficult, so if things go according to plan, another update will happen in the foreseeable future.**

 **Until then fellas, please drop anything and everything you have to say in the reviews. I want to get some feedback before I take this story in a completely different direction. Anything and everything.**

 **Take care fellas, and enjoy.**

* * *

 ***Haygood's note: not this chapter, but next chapter will have a little surprise from me. Heh, this is why we raised the rating. :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Imminent Catastrophe (Part 2)**

* * *

 **"Life is a fight. Don't let it overwhelm you. Adapt and combat every situation it throws at you"  
~Tim McIlrath - {Rise Against}  
**

* * *

Darkon froze up again when he heard the sickening grinding of the mechanics from inside the lupine's carbine, the barrel of said gun directly between his eyes.

"Holy fucking shit."

"Aeon Darkon," Wolf started firmly, his voice never changing from that stoic, authoritative tone. "Under my title of Honorary Guardian Initiate gifted to me by the authority of the Verian Guardian Corps, I regret to inform you that your crimes against Veris Alpha and Corneria have merited you a comfortable place in hell. Anything you want to say before I give you the ticket to your destination?"

Aeon let out a pitiful whimper, contrasting the mountain of a dragon he was. "No… no, p-please, I-I-I was only a pawn! I didn't—"

"You?! A pawn?!" Wolf laughed aloud. "You should've been a comedian, _Lord_ Darkon."

"I'm serious!" Aeon cried, gently scooting away only for Wolf to follow him, keeping his sights trained on the Darkoni. "I want to give it up! Please, have mercy, my friend! My wife needs me!"

"Who in their right mind would fall for you?" Wolf spat.

"Wolf, is it?" Aeon questioned shakily, to which the lupine only let out a breath of air. "You don't understand, my friend."

"Like hell I'm your friend," the lupine growled. "I've been informed of your antics. I personally don't think they're acceptable."

"Do you not think I don't know that?" the dragon countered. "My father brought this upon me! Surely you must know what it feels like to have an imposing father figure?"

"You just don't get it," Wolf snorted. "What you did has no justification. You ruined my family. Your improvised ballistic missile killed my mother. Doing that drove my father to insanity. He _did_ impose on me, but only because of _you_."

Wolf started to seethe, his tail flicking wildly in anger as his voice slowly started to rise in intensity. "All because of you. You tore my family apart. You're lucky you did not kill my brother with your damnable antics because I swear to whatever god you believe in, if you did, I would personally see that you and your followers get the quickest trip to hell I can personally give you."

The lupine's voice started to shake as his teeth clenched. "I had to put my father down because the hell you put him through made him sick in the head. He went mental because you killed his wife. My mother. Does it ever cross your mind that the actions you've done have ruined countless lives and have shattered families? Your antics have completely obliterated the peace in the system, and the lives that will be lost in the upcoming war will all be on your hands. How does that make you feel?!"

Darkon whimpered again as Wolf raised the weapon up to his shoulder.

"I HOPE IT MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE SHIT, YOU HEARTLESS SON OF A BITCH!"

Right as Wolf pulled the trigger, Aeon rolled away as the bullet impaled the concrete floor. When the Darkoni staggered to his feet, Wolf snarled and pointed his weapon at him, a blazing fire burning in his violet eyes. Again, the lupine pulled the trigger, only to miss in his state of bind rage.

William appeared behind Wolf and wrapped both paws around his carbine to push it down. "Wolf, wait, we need—"

Wolf delivered a nasty elbow to the smaller lupine's stomach, and in one fluid motion he flipped William over his shoulder and onto his tail—the sickening crack of his spine against the cement echoing in the warehouse. Once he dealt with the smaller wolf, the Guardian picked his head and rifle up only to be tackled to the ground by Darkon. They fought for dominance, both trying to get the upper hand on their corresponding opponent by exchanging blows and blocks.

Aeon dazed Wolf by landing a staggering punch to the side of Wolf's helmet so strong that it dented the heavy material. He then staggered to his feet, picked up Wolf's ACR, then pointed it directly at the lupine with one hand on the grip and a finger wrapped around the flimsy trigger.

"I may be a fool!" Aeon shouted, panting from exertion. "But at least I have the knowledge to know that you do not deserve that guardian status, you filthy dog!"

Wolf slowly rolled over onto his knees, breathing heavy while his ears still rung from the brutal blow.

"You have no honor! No respect! At least I had the humility to accept my faults! And I would have accepted my death as well! But YOU! You brought your personal life into this! You were going to kill me out of vengeance! OUT OF SPITE! …That is not a Guardian's way."

"Fuck you…" Wolf spat.

"You claim to be a Guardian, yet you lack the fundamental qualities of someone with that amount of honor," Aeon continued. "I don't care who commissioned you, and who allowed you to carry that revered title, but all I know is that they are a fool to GIVE AWAY that respected title to someone who will abuse it like you have!"

"Your brother had faith that—"

"Jona wouldn't know what to do with his authority—case in point, _you_!" Darkon spat repulsively. "Jona may have that Guardian title, but you know what? He's _fractured_! His loyalty isn't in his king, grandfather, whatever the hell he is! He only cares about what he thinks is important! He would turn on his king if it meant it would save him or whoever he cared about trouble!"

"That's a lie!" Wolf shouted back.

"Don't be so sure," he smirked coldly. "Ask him about his loyalty once you're done putting me down… just like he told you to do."

Aeon growled, then slowly let his anger simmer down. He stared at the struggling lupine, then after a second or two of internal debate, he outstretched his arm with the rifle pointing directly at the lupine's skull. After a deep breath, he released his grip, letting the weapon clatter on the cement when it dropped from his grasp.

"I'm done, my friend," Aeon said softly. "No more fighting. If this is what it has come down to… I will accept my fate as it is."

Wolf watched wide-eyed as the large Darkoni placed his boot underneath the rifle, then kicked it forwards, sliding the weapon up to him. Aeon then lowered his snout and fell to his knees, placing both of his hands behind his head in surrender.

"Wait…" Wolf started, slowly picking himself up to his feet. "That's it?"

"I have nothing of importance to say, other than what I have already told you," Aeon said humbly. "Well, other than… for what it's worth… I do regret the decisions I've made. The only thing I don't regret is my choices with Cynthia. She made this life of mine worthwhile. She stood by me. She helped me through it all."

Wolf bit his lower lip as he reached for his weapon.

"Please… whatever you do, do not harm her," Aeon continued. "She doesn't deserve it. I do."

Wolf approached the surrendering dragon with hesitance. "So… this is it. Your legacy stops here."

"Afraid so," Darkon breathed. "But… like I said, I deserve this. I know my faults. I realize what I have done wrong. Wolf, your family… they were an unfortunate bystander to my fool of a father and his ambitious plans, as well as my spinelessness and ignorance. From the bottom of my heart, I apologize. If there was a way to bring them back to you, I would do it in a heartbeat. I'd take it all back if I could…"

The large armored wolf had to struggle to keep from letting his emotions show. He stood there in silence, taking in the information the wanted criminal had to say.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Aeon said impatiently when Wolf did not so much as give him a sign of recognition. "I'm accepting my death. Get it over with, _Mister_ Guardian."

"I… can't," Wolf admitted.

"If you had the honor of a Guardian you would honor their last wish," Darkon stated. "I'm a criminal of unfathomable proportions. I deserve to be put down like the animal I am."

"Aeon, I can't—"

"Do it."

Wolf couldn't hold back a sniffle. "This doesn't feel right. You repented. You're willing to change."

"Change is one thing. I have ruined the lives of millions… billions, Wolf. Can you not see that I cannot live with this? I cannot live with their blood on my hands."

"I can't do this," Wolf deadpanned. "I'm not killing you."

"Put me out of my misery, my friend," Aeon grunted. "This is what I want."

Wolf had genuine tears form in his eyes as he pressed the barrel of his rifle against the Darkoni's forehead. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Aeon corrected. "Just promise me that Cynthia will be safe."

"I promise," Wolf choked out. "We will take care of her."

Aeon finally smiled. "Good man. You will be rewarded for your actions. I'm sure of it."

Unable to say another word, Wolf gently patted Aeon on his shoulder, and as the dragon relaxed his muscles and let serenity take over his entire body, it suddenly fell limp after a loud discharge from the lupine's carbine. The dragon fell backwards, then laid flat on his back with an expression of genuine tranquility as blood seeped from his head.

Wolf couldn't believe what he just did. He just executed a man that he, in all honestly, thought was innocent. He was a victim much like everyone else in this accursed conflict. He was just another drop in the bucket of people massacred in this violent exchange of viewpoints.

Wolf let his grasp on the rifle loosen enough to let it fall to the ground, then soon thereafter he fell to his knees and started quietly sobbing. That was the second person he had ever killed with a conflicting interior motive. Aeon was innocent in his mind. Yet, he pulled the trigger.

Memories of the late James McCloud immediately started filling his mind. James was innocent as well. He fell victim to insanity, and the wolf couldn't blame him for it. He had to put James out of his misery, not only for himself, but for the wellbeing of his wife. The worst part was that Wolf didn't want to do it. He wanted James to repent and come back home. That didn't happen.

Wolf ripped his helmet off, casted it aside, then immediately cupped the top of his head in his paws. William saw his distraught expression and gently walked up to him, setting a paw on his shoulder.

"You did what you needed to do."

"I murdered an innocent man, Will!" Wolf snapped his teeth together. "He didn't do anything! He just followed orders!"

"Wolf—"

"He repented and told me how much he hated himself for doing this," Wolf continued. "I know what he was feeling. He wanted to get out. He wanted to save his family. Oh, shit! Will, tell Chance to keep that HVI safe! She's innocent!"

William growled and pulled up his transmitter. "Chance! Chance, HVI is not a hostile, repeat, not a hostile; keep her safe at all costs!"

 **\/##########\/**

"Copy that Will," Chance rasped, trying to control his breathing but with the level of bacteria in his lungs it was making it incredibly hard, and the weight of his gatling laser rifle was not helping. "HVI not a target."

He trudged though the sewers with nothing but his night-time systems illuminating his path until he came to the central spillway access. The room in question had a single column supporting the weight of the ceiling, rounding out on either side to give the spillway a sleek, cylindrical look. The spillways themselves were dry; that wasn't the problem… the problem was the smell would peel paint off of its walls, and by gods did it wreak.

"I just get out of sickbay and I'm already knee deep in shit," Chance grumbled. "Figures."

However, his luck seemed to change as he watched a Verian female enter the same access passage, winded and armed. She put her back to a drainage pipe and tried to breath, taking long and hoarse breaths to regain her spent stamina. He could see why she could be deemed not a target; she wasn't even armored—just wearing a pair of boots, green combat pants and a green vest over a black tank top. She took slower breaths for a moment before she swapped out the spent power cell for a new one.

 _She expended an entire power cell just to get down here?_ Chance thought, shifting his stance and silently encroaching on her exhausted frame. However, he made the mistake of breathing awkwardly due to his sickly condition and let out a measly, weak cough, catching her attention immediately. The next thing he saw was a red target sight right under his name and rank stitched onto his uniform.

"You're either very brave or very stupid to be down here on your own," Cynthia spoke confidently, her words getting steadier with each syllable.

"Stupid I suppose," The orange tabby chuckled weakly, followed by another round of hoarse coughing. "If there wasn't any excitement in life there wouldn't be anything stupid to try."

"PSDF?" she asked firmly, keeping her gun up.

"Names Chance; lead gunner with the PSDF 163rd special operations team," he restated, not moving much. "On temporary loan to the Verian Guardian Corps."

At the mention of the VGC she lowered her weapon and sighed, "Thank the Ancestors… You've got to get me out of here."

Chance grunted in approval. It _was_ easier than he thought. "Well, come on; the rest of my team is waiting… follow me."

Cynthia nodded and started to walk over to Chance.

"Chance what's your status?" Will came over the radio, startling Cynthia somewhat.

The two were walking towards the exit hatch when chance answered, "Got the HVI, making for the surface now. This was way too easy to be considered a complication. We'll see you in—"

Before he could finish, a loud bang resonated throughout the sewer system. The two froze and looked around, before the bang came again—only this time it was from the hatch that started to buckle and bow at the force being applied to it.

"Shit…" Cynthia cursed, raising her pistol instinctively. Chance did the same thing with his rifle as the next slam forced the hatch open and ripped it off its hinges.

"Well, well; you seem to be in the wrong place yet again, you traitorous bitch," a deep male voice echoed beyond the door as a large imposing dragon walked though. "Why are you not bleeding to death by your weakling husband's side?"

Cynthia wasn't going to have any of the taunting dragon's antics. "Fuck you Brute; we're getting out of here even if it's the last thing we do."

"Wrong answer," Brute growled, raising his hammer and charged headlong.

They barely had a chance to react as Brute's hammer came crashing down between them, putting a massive crater in the spillway material. They bolted around him and leveled their guns, instinctively shooting at the threat, only for Chance's blue beams and Cynthia's red-orange bolts to either be absorbed or deflected by the Guardian's armor. Chuckling in satisfaction, Brute took another wind up and swung his massive hammer at the duo, only for them to either jump over or roll out of the way.

The shots echoed through the sewers, and were apparently loud enough to prompt a radio call. "Chance we're hearing blaster fire! What's your status!?"

"WE'VE BEEN ENGAGED!" Was all Chance was able to yell, ducking under a heavy swing—the hammer impacting the wall hard enough to create a hole and a series of spider webbing cracks, compromising the integrity of the room and compromising the single load baring column as a result.

"RUN!" Chance called to Cynthia, who immediately spat out her refusal and continued to combat the rogue guardian. Chance watched her get knocked to the ground by Brute, fixing to end her when he was barraged by a rapid stream of beams from Chance's gatling rifle. Brute growled at the ineffective weaponry and changed targets, advancing on the gunner with weapons poised.

"My mission will fail if you die, now GET OUT OF HERE!" Chance shouted, narrowly dodging a swing of the heavy hammer only to get bashed in the shoulder by his active shield.

Chance managed to tank the shot and stay on his feet, but that momentary stun was all the rouge Guardian needed to blast him in the chest with a full powered swing, casting him aside. Wheezing, he tried to get back up only to get hammered again—sending him flying to the other side of the room as if he was some sort of golf ball.

"Hey Brute!" Cynthia called out, getting the larger Verian's attention. Before Brute could shout back, Cynthia pointed her charged pistol at the fractured column and took a shot, blowing through the support and causing the roof to break apart.

"Catch this!"

The space in between the Guardian and the other two collapsed in a mound of shrapnel and debris thick enough to block them from the imposing dragon's wrath. A feral sounding roar echoed from the other side, followed by a few ground shaking slams of his hammer, but the debris pile was too big to be overcome.

"Fucking asshole…" Chance growled between breaths.

"I agree. Come on, Chance," she grabbed him by his vest and tried to drag him though the blasted hatch, but finding him heavy she tried to get some of his gear off.

"Just leave me…" he rasped, weakly touching her arm.

"I can't."

"I'm done; I'm just dead weight." Chance fought with every word. "I won't make it another ten feet."

"But I—"

"Just go!" Chance demanded, blood spilling out of his muzzle as he sputtered over his words. "Get out of here… while you still can…"

Cynthia fought with herself for a while; she wanted to help but she didn't know how. She didn't have the training to help a fallen soldier, but her mentality wouldn't let her leave him there to die. She wanted to help him, but it was apparent that the tabby had other plans.

Before turning around and bolting out of the sewer systems, she crouched down and planted a soft kiss on the dying feline's forehead.

"Chance… thank you."

"Stay… alive…" he gasped, the crimson blood dripping down his jawline. Cynthia nodded, then did what she was told.

She ran like hell, refusing to turn back.

 **\/##########\/**

Todd watched as five heavily bundled-up Fichinians loaded a crate of supplies onto a small transport ship, then slowly shut the cargo hold shut and waited for the occupants to board. He had already spoken with Joel moment prior, so once the white furred anthros gave the 'okay' signal, Joel grabbed his belongings and stepped aboard the transport ship. Skae followed suit, but instead of boarding like he did, she set her suitcase on the floor of the transport ship and immediately trotted down the incline.

She stepped up to Todd and sheepishly smirked, tugging on the straps of her hat. "General McClellan, I… I wanted to thank you for letting Joel and I stay together."

A little bit of sour acid formed in the human's mouth. Cringing as he swallowed it, he nodded and gave her a fake grin. "I saw there was something… once he explained, I knew… But it's still a bit of a shock."

"I understand," Skae nodded back.

"I'm sorry if I was a little harsh on you and the kid," Todd continued. "I wasn't too fond of this cooperation between us and the militia here. Something in my mind told me that there was something wrong about this from the get-go… like I'd end up regretting my decision to come out here."

"Oh, say it ain't so," Skae said concernedly. "I know this is strange, but sir, we'd never do anything of that sort. Honest."

"I thought you'd might say that," Todd commented.

"Truthfully, sir, I can speak on behalf of Fichina when I say we are welcoming of you and our team. They provide a very interesting dynamic to our militia; something that I can say will benefit not just us, but you as well. I mentioned this to Joel as well."

"What's that?"

Skae let her ears fold back. "Well, I mentioned to him something about the potential for coexistence between our races. There's so much of a culture difference between us that it could be interesting to see how a friendly relation would work. Unfortunately, the first attempt Lylat had didn't accomplish that goal, but once we can get Corneria under control, we can really see how an alliance would work."

Todd finally let a genuine grin surface. "Hmm, that would be interesting to see. I'll do my best to see that this goal of yours will be accomplished."

"Thank you, sir," Skae smiled, outstretching her gloved paw, to which General McClellan accepted in a firm handshake. "Wish me luck out there."

"Wait," Todd interrupted, pulling the white wolf back to face him again. "I need to ask you something."

"What is it, sir?"

Todd sighed and tentatively set an arm around her shoulder. "It's about Joel. Listen, I know you two have definitely grown on each other over the short week and a half or whatever that he's been here, but… for his sake, and mine no less, don't force anything, okay?"

"Uh… okay?" Skae replied confusedly, gently peeling Todd's arm off of her. "What do you mean by that, may I ask?"

"Well, two things, and for one, Joel… the poor kid's been through a lot, all because of this shit," he started, glancing up at the frost coated ceiling. "The first few hours of the first engagement with Corneria six years ago, he lost his brother, his sister, and most of his closest friends. He's never been himself since. He used to be a funny kid; cracking jokes, having fun, just doing what someone like him would love to do. Ever since then… he's been distant. He's kept by his friends, but really hasn't gone out of his way to make new ones. He's grown distant from everyone, including his own family. I'm just worried that he might be sick in the head or something."

Without letting the lupine reply, Todd continued, "Which is partly the reason why I let you stay with him, because the talk we had earlier was the most I've seen out of him since the war. I've never seen him so animated, and although he was pissed at me, I couldn't be happier with him, seeing that he was starting to come back. I've noticed that you've started to… reinvigorate his true personality. Although, I don't feel all that comfortable with my son getting together with someone of your specie—no offence—I truly think that you are the best thing that's ever happened to him."

Skae's eyes progressively widened as Todd spoke on. "Wow… He's been like this for years, and I'm just now getting him out of it?"

"It would take a lot to get him out of what I said he went through," he said, giving a slight grin to the wolf. "Like I said, he sees something in you, and is starting to feel comfortable around you. I don't know how you managed to do it in a week's time, but… from the bottom of my heart, I thank you Skae. You're bringing my son back. If my son trusts you this much, you can count on mine as well."

Skae smiled. "Thank you sir… um… what was that second point?"

Todd sighed and seemed to deflate. "Because I don't want you to make the same mistake I did."

The she-wolf cocked her head.

"When I married my wife, I didn't know that both of us would grow to be as powerful as we were," the human started, digging his hands into his pockets. "It got to the point where our jobs were getting in the way, and eventually we had to be separated because it was too risky to have two of the most powerful people on our planet together in the same room. It went downhill from there. I never got to see her, and now it seems as though our relationship is strictly professional, and I absolutely hate that."

"I'm sorry," Skae extended her condolences. "But… I apologize if I'm being insensitive, but what does this have to do with me and Joel?"

Again, Todd breathed heavily and loudly. "Don't rush yourself into something so soon if you know that something is going to keep you two apart. Once you're apart from the one you love for an extended amount of time… that love starts to die out. I know this from experience. I know, you're gonna tell me that it will never happen between you and Joel, but if you would have told me this same thing thirty years ago when Valerie and I got married, I would have said the same thing."

Skae donned a genuinely confused look. "So, you're basically telling me to stay with Joel, but don't rush anything?"

"Exactly," Todd nodded. "You're doing an amazing job at bringing his old self back to us, but don't do anything extreme just yet. Use this time at Antigone to do it. Be yourselves there. You need to act natural to blend in, so… hell, if you two want to be a couple, then act like one there. I understand that this mission may be bearing down on you two, but for your sake, and my son's… enjoy yourselves there. When you bring him back, Skae, I want to see my son how he was over six years ago."

Skae smiled widely. "You've got yourself a deal, General."

"Just know that you're lucky I'm letting you two do this," Todd's tone suddenly became stern. "I have no ill-feelings towards you in particular, but overall I never did have a particular affinity for this system or its inhabitants. You're helping me see different, but just know it takes a lot to gain my trust."

Todd smirked at the wolf. "You're a lucky one to have gotten it so soon, Skae, but don't make me regret doing so, understood?"

Skae nodded with her own smirk. "Sir, yes, sir."

"Good," Todd shook her paw once more. "Just remember what I told you, and you'll be just fine."

"Thank you," Skae smiled, tugging on the straps of her hat. "We'll do our best, sir. You can count on us."

Todd gave them one final sendoff, but didn't bother to stick around for the takeoff and actual flight; he always thought staying was bad luck. Instead, he bundled himself back up again and exited the Fichinian Militia Headquarters, then set course for the house he was supposedly staying in. And, just by his luck, as soon as his boots dug into the snow, it started snowing again.

Disregarding the cold precipitation, he trudged along the buried streets in his quest to get to the other side of the small town. Along the way, he truly saw how beautiful the town was. Despite it being perpetually buried in over two feet of snow (give or take a few inches given a particular day), the townspeople knew how to stay on top of keeping their dwelling place pristine and presentable. The windows were never covered, the pathways were defined despite it being covered in ice, and the homes themselves were downright beautiful. Mostly comprised of dark oak logs and bricks, each home did indeed have a very homely feel to it. He wondered if his host's home was as comfortable as the others looked.

He finally reached the other side of the town, and at the end of the street was a large manor-style home, built out of the same material as all the other houses, but this one was easily five times bigger than the rest, aside from a few businesses. When he stepped inside to get out of the bitter, chilly air, he instantly knew why the home was so large. It was the town's schoolhouse.

The first slightly opened door he peered inside of held an entire classroom made up of about fifteen small animals, each one less than half of his size. Most were arctic foxes and wolves judging by their fur and tails, but he noticed a few other sub-species that looked like leopards, huskies, malamutes, and cats; all almost completely covered in white or shades of gray colored fur. They couldn't have been older than seven or eight years old, judging by their higher pitched voices, their sizes, and the classroom's décor which looked like it appealed the younger audience.

The teacher of the class—a very beautiful snow leopard with a coat of white, black, and gray spotted fur, along with a full head of wavy black hair and icy blue eyes—gained the attention of her class by speaking in a very silky and melodic voice. "Okay class, I think that's all the time we have for today."

Todd backed away from the door as he heard some of the kids squeal and howl in delight.

"Class is dismissed," she continued. "Be sure to keep up on your homework, and be sure to stay warm out there. I'll see you after the weekend."

The students packed up their belongings and immediately left the classroom and headed home for the evening. A few noticed the human general and started whispering to each other as they walked out the front door, a few waved or said hi to him—at least, he thought they said hi to him—and one brave little arctic fox gave the general a high-five as he walked by, smiling the entire time. Todd, with a smirk on his face, approached the doorway of the classroom and leaned inside, seeing the leopardess organizing her materials on what little desk space she had.

"Looks like I've got time to put together a few activities for next week," she muttered to herself, until she heard the door squeak. Her ears twitched, and she instinctively looked up to see the human general peering inside, just looking at the vibrantly colored classroom. "Oh, hello," she smiled, folding up a large notebook and stepping over to the general. "General McClellan?"

"That's me," Todd curtly replied. "Would you be Miss Dion?"

The leopard purred. "Oh, please, call me Monica. Only my students call me Miss Dion."

"Alright, Monica," Todd actually chuckled. "I understand you're supposed to be hosting me?"

"Indeed I am," she replied warmly, glancing back at her paperwork. "I'm sorry, I hope me being a teacher doesn't set you off."

Todd shook his head. "No, actually. I find that line of work to be quite admirable. I would never be able to do this."

That got the snow leopard to smile, which prompted Todd to mentally start kicking himself. He just complimented one of those creatures.

"Great," Monica purred again. "Well, let me finish up what I'm doing here, and I'll show you where you'll be staying."

"Sounds good," he responded, watching the slender leopardess slip over to her desk and start flipping through papers—most filled with the almost illegible handwriting of the little Fichinians. "How long have you been a teacher?"

"Pretty much all my life," Monica replied. "I was almost out of a job because they were starting to starve during Corneria's war, but I stayed with it. Someone needs to stay with these kids."

Todd's heart gradually started loosening up. "That's very sweet of you," he said, practically biting his tongue as he said it.

"Thank you," the leopardess smiled, again letting a purr surface. "Here, uh, this can wait for now. Let me show you to where you're staying. Along the way, would you mind telling me a bit about yourself?"

Todd chuckled. "Well, there's not much for me to say… noting worth noting in my opinion."

"But there's plenty for you to tell me in my opinion," she giggled, scooping up a stack of papers.

Todd shifted awkwardly and let the Fichinian leopardess pass by and trot out the door. Forcing himself to follow, Todd let his shoulders slump as his heels dragged against the floor.

"God, I can't stand these furry fuckers."

 **\/##########\/**

"Wow, Sheila, your hair is so long!" Krystal gapped, gingerly picking at the husky's massive hair explosion. "I know a Cerinian braiding style, would you like me to do it to your hair?"

"Of course," Sheila smiled, running both of her paws over her head to push most, if not all of her voluminous locks behind her ears and behind the back of the couch she was seated on. As she did so, she felt Krystal's slightly chilled paws run through her hair to straighten out a few strands. "So, how'd you like the talk with Fox?"

"Oh, it was lovely," the Cerinian vixen sighed happily. "Fox is really sweet."

"He is," Sheila agreed. "We've known each other for a very long time."

"He's really cute," Krystal giggled, a little spot of purple popping up in her cheeks.

"You think so?"

The vixen nodded. "My father always told me that Cerinians have a natural instinct when it comes to choosing a mate. We have one true mate, and it's up to us to discern who that person it. I've always been taught that we know it when we see them for the first time. I… I think Fox might be that one."

"Aww, that's wonderful Krys," Sheila nearly squealed. "I'm so glad you think you found him."

Krystal sighed and started splitting Sheila's hair into sections. "I remember thinking about a few others from my village. There were a few cute ones that I liked, but they were really rude. Quina warned me about those kinds of people. She said that those kinds of people would only think of me as an object."

"I can tell you right now, Fox would never treat you like that," Sheila replied. "One of my best friends back in the academy years back, her sister is Fox's girlfriend right now. He takes good care of her."

Krystal's ears drooped. "Oh, that was her? I didn't know Fox was already taken."

"Oh, no, no, no, Krystal, it's not like that," the husky interjected. "Remember? Cornerian vulpines like Fox rarely ever have just one partner. That's why I was trying to push you in his direction because I know that you liked him, and that Fox liked you. I could see it."

"So… is he, like, _okay_ with that?"

"I don't see why he wouldn't be," Sheila shrugged her shoulders. "It's not a matter of their beliefs; it's their natural instincts. Fox wouldn't act the way he did on camera unless there was something in his instincts that he froze up at. Foxes in general are like that; they tend to rely on their instinct more than their mindset, but when something happens they get confused and fight with themselves, hence why he acted like he did. However, I think Fox is an exception to the everyday stereotypes. I mean, when he was a kit he wanted to get into piloting, but after the First Contact war and what happened to him then, he changed his ways and went into engineering."

"Wait, what happened to Fox then?" Krystal asked.

Sheila unnoticeably shuddered. "Fox, he… he lost his mom the day of the accident, and his father lost his mind. Wolf… ended up killing him to save me. He lost both of his parents because of that fight."

"Oh my gods and goddesses," Krystal exclaimed softly, covering her muzzle. "Poor Fox."

"He was the last person that deserved that," Sheila added. "Luckily he had a great friend that took him in when Wolf and I came here. But… Fox, he was too sweet to have that happen to him. His parents were incredibly nice."

"Mine were too," Krystal commented. "I know what Fox must've been feeling."

"I'm sorry, Krys," Sheila said consolingly. "Both of my parent were killed like that too. It's not easy, I know. But, you know what makes that harsh loss easier?"

"What's that?"

Sheila smiled, pointing at a framed picture of her wedding day sitting on the coffee table. That particular picture was her favorite—it was moments after they had both finished shoving sections of their wedding cake into each other's faces. Both bride and groom were covered in white frosting, laughing uncontrollably as they clung onto each other.

"I found that person that would spend the rest of his life with me," she explained.

Krystal squealed happily. "You two look so cute in that picture."

"Cleaning all the frosting out of my fur and hair was a pain in the _you-know-where_ ," Sheila giggled. "But you know what? I've never had so much fun in my life."

"Looks like it," the vixen giggled back. She looked at the picture again, then after tightening a part of the husky's hair, she lowered her voice a bit. "Is that what true love looks like?"

Sheila smiled. "If that isn't… I don't know what is."

Krystal put the final touch on the husky's braid, then trotted around the couch and nodded. "How is it?"

Sheila pulled the magnificent braid over her shoulder, and upon seeing it for the first time she let out a loud gasp of disbelief. "Oh my goodness, Krystal, this is beautiful!"

Krystal giggled and started swaying her hips. "I'm glad you like it."

Sheila stared at her hair in awe for a few moments before patting the open cushion on the couch. "So, talk to me. What do you think of all this?"

Krystal immediately curled her legs up to her tail as soon as she sat down. "Well, it's… really scary. My Guardian kept saying things about this, but I never listened because I didn't think I'd have to deal with it. Now my village is gone, and I'm here. I don't know what's gonna happen next."

"I'm sure we can find something," Sheila assured. "You're very beautiful and intelligent. Surely someone will see that and take in interest. Just look at Fox."

Krystal giggled again. "I didn't even have to read his mind and I knew he was in love."

"Hey, fate works in wondrous ways," the husky smirked. "Obviously your gods saw that you needed a boost after what happened to your family. Fox can sympathize."

"I want to see him again," Krystal stated softly. "I think I need someone like him to talk to."

"Hey, that's how Wolf and I got together six years ago," Sheila commented. "I was upset, and he was that shoulder to cry on. We were friends ever since, then we got together soon thereafter, and it wasn't long after that we were married, and now we've got our first pup on the way."

Krystal let out a soft squeal. "Aww, that's so cute. Congratulations."

"Thanks Krys," Sheila grinned. "And thanks for this too," she added, pawing at the looping braid her hair had been put in.

"You're welcome," the Cerinian smiled back. "He's happy."

"Hmm?" Sheila hummed in confusion.

"Your pup," she explained, glancing down at the husky's abdomen. "I can hear him. He's very happy."

"He?" Sheila echoed softly.

Krystal giggled. "Male kits are always like that. Quina told me, and I can tell. You're very lucky."

Sheila smiled widely, gently rubbing at her belly.

"With what I've been given… I sure am."

 **\/##########\/**

 _This is my curse  
The longing  
This is my curse  
To  
This is my curse  
The needing  
This is my curse_

 _There is love burning to find you  
Will you wait for me?  
Still I want and still I ache  
But still I wait to see you again  
Dying inside these walls  
Dying inside these walls  
Can I see your face in these tears?  
In these tears and I see your face  
There is love… There is love…_

 _*Killswitch Engage – My Curse*_


	17. Welcome to Antigone

**A/N: I'm sure you guys know by now that I am indeed alive and well. I'll spare a rant because I don't want to add to the word count any more than I'm already about to do. So sorry guys, but Elarix and I had a discussion about last chapter that I feel I need to make public.  
**

 **I'm sure all of you are confused about Aeon Darkon's antics from the previous chapters, and to that I say "here's what I fucked up". I'll admit it guys; I fucked up pretty hard with those chapters, and here's why. I broke my cardinal rule of writing that I formed after the first beginning chapters of FC, and that is "Don't omit the bloody key details!" Let's make a list of the things that I forgot.  
1) Forgot to properly characterize Aeon in chapter 7; his first appearance  
2) Completely overlooked any sense of potential remourse or hesitance in his explanation that chapter  
3) Forgot to mention that it was his father's legacy he was following, not his own.  
4) Omitted an extra scene with him in between chapter 9-13 (mostly due to revisions in the plot that accidentally removed that scene from my plans)  
So, hopefully you can piece back the puzzle I created with that information. Just assume from here on out that the aforementioned information is present in the upcoming chapters. Just think of that slip as a pothole, and I just covered it up with gravel to make it seem smooth, when really it isn't. *shrug***

 **Hey, speaking of Elarix, don't forget to check out his story "The Hunting Party" to see even more of my work (even though I really didn't do much last chapter. shhhh...). We've got the next chapter planned out, and hopefully I don't almost die again to work on it for real this time.**

 **(almost) Lastly, don't forget guys, I'd like to hear from you guys on how the story is progressing. I don't know why, but my view count as of recently has been diminishing, and I hope it was just because I updated on a weird day and not because my readership is flopping. Don't leave me out of the loop guys, I need to know! :)**

 **Taking Elarix's advice, I did shorten this chapter a bit, but not by my choice to be honest. This was just a weird coincidence.**

 **And to Elarix again (wow, I just can't stop talking about him tonight. Yes, we're definitely dating. Ship us; I dare you), you may have influenced the song choice this chapter. You're welcome in advance bud.**

 **I'll stop now to save your sanity for this chapter. Take care guys, and please enjoy.**

 **~Sheppard**

* * *

 _You've given me a chance to change; helped me in ways I can't explain  
I'll never understand the way you took my hand with no dismay  
Now I'm who I am today and that's the man I plan to stay  
But can't escape, I can't evade; you stranded me and ran away  
Why'd you do it? Why'd you leave?  
Why'd you help me find my feet?  
Why'd you guide me blindingly then turn and say goodbye to me?  
All this time I tried to be the person you applied to me  
This lie you feed that I'd succeed is why I'm me, a dying breed_

 _You saved me, you made me  
And through it all you changed me forever  
You love me, you hate me  
And through it all you changed me forever  
Through it all you changed me  
I'm not the same me  
For better or for worse; this person that you made me  
Through it all you changed me  
I'm not the same me  
For better or for worse you changed me forever_

 _*From Ashes to New – Through It All*_

* * *

 **Chapter 17: Welcome to Antigone**

* * *

Wolf and William stood in respectful silence with their heads down as Katt gently set Chance's helmet in between two lit candles. The rest of the team shared a moment of silence for their fallen comrade until a low growl formed in William's throat.

Wolf turned his head and looked at him quizzically. "Will?"

William suddenly started staring daggers at Wolf. "This is your fault!"

"What?"

"You son of a bitch; I could have saved him!" William snarled. "Because _you_ couldn't keep your head cool I lost one of my best soldiers!"

Wolf took a few hesitant steps backward. "Will, I'm sorry that Chance was killed, but this is war. Surely you knew that this was going to happen?"

"It doesn't change the fact that my best friend is gone!" William barked, tears starting to form in his eyes. "And because you interfered in your state of rage I couldn't get down there in time to save him!"

Wolf's ears folded flat against his head. "I'm sorry, bro."

"Learn to control your anger," the other lupine breathed heavily. "Rage like that only interferes with the mission. Chance is gone because of you. Let that sink in."

With that, William spun around and walked away from the makeshift shrine. Wolf looked down at the candles and Chance's helmet, starting to feel that heavy sense of regret he hadn't felt since… since he killed James six years ago. Killing Darkon invoked some of it, but his own brother snapping at him like he did sealed the deal. Completing this mission was supposed to be a great milestone in the conflict, and it was supposed to be a cause for celebration. Now, Wolf had to deal with the heartbreak of destroying lives and invoking more distress.

Wolf pulled his helmet off and carelessly tossed it to the ground, along with his rifle and any other tactical gear weighing him down, then sat down in the dust and crossed his legs. He set his elbows on his knees and let his head fall into the cradle his paws created. That little scene of remorse and regret pulled on the heart strings of Dingo, who slowly approached the lupine.

"It's not your fault, Wolf," Dingo explained softly, crouching down to his level and setting a paw on his shoulder. "Will's just upset."

"Wouldn't be the first time I've upset someone," Wolf remarked hollowly.

"Don't be so down on yourself, bud," the dingo grinned to lighten the mood—only if Wolf would have seen it. "Listen, I've lost count of how many mistakes everyone on the Ghosts have made. It's not the first, and it certainly won't be the last."

"Did you make any mistakes that killed anyone?" Wolf questioned.

Dingo sighed. "No, but—"

"Then it _is_ a first, and funny enough it happened because I showed up here," the lupine muttered. "I never should have taken that deal. Aeon was right; accepting that Guardian title was a mistake."

"Wolf," Dingo said firmly, yet softly. "Talking like that is only going to make yourself feel worse. Believe me, I know from experience."

Wolf stayed silent, staring at the makeshift shrine for Chance.

"Will is just upset that his best friend and teammate was killed in the way that he did, and he was just letting out his anger. Unfortunately it had to be you. I'm sorry it had to be you, but for your sake don't take it personally."

"It's more than Will snapping at me," Wolf interrupted, lifting his head up to look at the canine. "It's everything. Aeon was nothing more than a pawn in his father's twisted legacy. I may not have all of the knowledge in the world, but I knew from his explanation, and the _way_ he explained it showed that he was sincere. I would know, because… Because my father tried to do the same to me."

"I remember that story," Dingo nodded his head. "You probably know this already, but what you're doing right now is kinda similar to what he did—"

"Don't fuckin' compare me to him," Wolf growled. "He lost his mind, thank you very much."

"But you're gonna be following in his path if you keep up this mentality of everything going wrong in your presence is your fault," Dingo countered. "I'm sorry Wolf, but this isn't good for you. You're a Guardian. Nobody like us can say that except for you. You're an exception, and a damn good one at that. Sure, one mistake happened, but look at what else you did. Wolf, you were a badass knifing through that camp like you did."

That little remark merited the smallest smile ever seen creeping on Wolf's muzzle.

"And if you keep that up, we can end this conflict." With that, the canine lifted himself up to his feet and outstretched his paw. "Come on. You've got a war to stop."

Wolf accepted the dingo's paw, letting him pull him back up to his feet. As soon as he dusted the powdery red-orange sand off of his armor, he spun around only to come face to face with the dragon that gave him the armor in the first place.

"Thank you, Dingo," Jona smirked. "That was an amazing explanation. I couldn't've said it any better."

"You're welcome, Prince Falx," Dingo replied humbly, giving the dragon a final bow before leaving the area. Wolf sheepishly and falsely grinned at him, which he saw through like a pane of glass, and as Wolf reached for his rifle Jona placed his boot over its stock.

"Wolf," he started, letting a sigh out of his nose. "I'm a little disappointed in you."

The lupine raised an eyebrow at him. "What? I did what you told me to do!"

"Your execution of it was incredibly sloppy," Jona stated. "Vince showed me the recorded transcription of the mission. You let a wanted criminal speak falsely against himself, his people, and all of us for that matter, and you listened. Now, I appreciate that you had the spine to finish him off, but—"

"Are you kidding me?" Wolf snapped, baring his teeth slightly. "Did you not see that he was sincere?"

"Aeon and his regime are a very deceptive bunch," Jona countered. "Did _you_ not see he was trying to trick you? He wanted you to shoot him so that you would feel guilty enough to stop before you pulled the trigger. He would take that moment of hesitation to break out."

"He had a family, Jona," Wolf mumbled.

"I'm well aware of that," Jona replied. "But James McCloud had a family too. That didn't justify his death sentence."

Wolf immediately turned red in anger, taking a few steps towards Jona. "Don't compare _him_ to Aeon! My father was sick!"

Jona shook his head. "And so are you. You need to calm yourself down, Wolf; this aura of hatred you have is affecting you in a very dangerous way."

"Then don't talk about my father like that," Wolf retorted. "I never wanted to kill him, just like I never wanted to kill Aeon. They were innocent men caught up in the wrong ideas."

"And you are also an innocent man caught up in the wrong ideas," the dragon stated firmly. "Now, before you start going mad, say goodbye and get prepared for another mission. We have another assignment."

Wolf, instead of being curious about the new mission, immediately scowled at the dragon and said, "I thought this was a one-time deal. I need to get home to my wife."

"We've already informed her that you are needed elsewhere," Jona corrected. "It's nothing serious. We just need to locate a former Fichinian with intelligence. He's already established a meeting date and place; we just need to meet him there."

"Why me?" Wolf questioned.

"He doesn't feel comfortable speaking with a Verian such as myself. He requested to speak with you specifically."

Wolf let a burst of air out of his nose. "Fine. Let me say goodbye to my brother first."

Jona nodded, prompting Wolf to leave the site of the shrine and walk up to William. He sat on a pile of crates with his head in his arms just like Wolf had been moments prior, and it was apparent that he looked just as distressed as Wolf was. Tentatively, the larger lupine walked up to his brother and got his attention by patting his leg.

William looked up, showcasing his bloodshot and reddened eyes, along with his tear stained fur. He started staring daggers at Wolf, until the other lupine held out his paw and grinned sheepishly. Their eyes met and locked into each other for a few moments, until Wolf mustered enough courage to break the silence.

"I'm sorry."

William's eyes slowly started glazing over with tears as his ears folded flat against his head. He popped off of his seat on the crates, and immediately afterward he thrusted himself into Wolf's unsuspecting grasp. Recovering from the sudden shock, Wolf returned the embrace by tightly squeezing his back as William did the same to him.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," William choked out. "It was just… too much of a shock for me."

"I understand," Wolf replied, pulling himself away from William. "Listen, I've got another assignment, and—"

"Say no more bro," William finally let a smile surface. "You get on that. Don't let me get in the way."

Wolf smiled in return, outstretching his paw to which William accepted in a firm handshake.

"Promise me I'll see you again?" Wolf asked, not releasing his paw.

"Trust me," William smirked. "We'll see each other soon. I can promise you that."

Wolf nodded and retracted his arm. "It was good seeing you again."

"You as well," the other wolf nodded back. "Stay safe Wolf. Good luck."

With that, Wolf gathered his belongings he left in the sand, regrouped with Jona, and followed him to the tarmac where the dragon's transport ship was located. Wolf waved goodbye one last time before the ship's hold closed up, prompting it to lift off of the landing field and ascend up and out of sight.

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Joel could only stare in awe as the huge Verian station and resort slowly became larger in his view. The Antigone Verian Fortress—an absolutely massive product of incredible engineering and top-notch technology hundreds of thousands of miles away from physical land—was the VGC's main checkpoint as well as functioning as the greatest tourist attraction within their district of Lylatian space; more specifically, Verian territory. The station functioned as an in-betweener station that was used for refueling ships bound for Corneria, but over time so many people wanted to see the stunning views the station would stumble across, such as bands of stardust and beautiful star-filled space that the military base evolved into a resort hundreds of thousands of miles away from any planet in Lylat. Joel was no exception; the view he saw was breathtaking.

"Skae, we're almost here," he shouted towards the back of their small transport ship.

"I'm not done yet," her muffled voice replied from the small bathroom wedged in the back of the "cargo hold".

"Is it that hard to put a little bit of dye in your fur?" Joel complained.

"Yes, it is, Joel," she snapped back. "If it looks fake our identity is compromised, and so is the mission. You're lucky you humans can just get a shave and a haircut and all of a sudden you're a completely different person."

Joel snickered to himself, gently rubbing at his freshly shaven face. Aside from the one little cut just below his jawline, his face was smooth and soft—which Skae absolutely adored. If that wasn't enough, he did get his hair trimmed up an inch or two to lighten the load on his head a bit, and just like that he looked like a new man. He felt like his appearance was altered enough to make him unrecognizable since his face was probably all over the news in Lylat right now, but just in case it didn't, he had a pair of thick framed glasses that discretely changed his eye pigment to a deep yellow color.

He heard the bathroom door unlatch finally, then when he turned around he felt all of the air involuntarily leave his lungs. Skae had completely altered her appearance drastically, apparent with almost every inch of her body being dyed a vibrant cherry red except for sections of her exposed belly and neck area which remained white, as well as the fur around all four of her paws. Her bushy lupine tail had also been dyed in that beautiful cherry red, while still keeping the iconic black tip. Even her hair changed, showing a darker red color along with the natural black-tipped portion. If that wasn't enough to make Joel stiff, she had a very relaxed set of apparel consisting of a black tank-top and some very loose and baggy gray sweatpants.

She giggled and cocked her hips. "Well, what do you think?"

"I want you in my bedroom," he unconsciously uttered, before slamming his lips shut, blushing redder than her fur dye. Skae laughed aloud and slipped up alongside him, taking the unoccupied co-pilot's seat as the transport's auto-pilot gently guided the ship closer and closer to the Verian Fortress.

"Hey, we're here for what, four days?" Skae asked, Joel reluctantly nodding in reply. "Well, that gives us plenty of time to have fun if that's what you're getting at."

Joel pinched himself to keep his emotions under control. "Well, Skae, this is a mission, you know? I know you love that little devil-may-care attitude of yours, but we really need to get this retrieval over and done with, or we're dead."

"Aww, so no fun?" Skae asked, folding her ears back in disappointment.

"We'll see," he responded before the radio in front of him crackled to life as they approached the main Antigone hangar.

 _"Antigone Control to civilian transport, please state your intentions immediately."_

Skae pressed the button just underneath the receiver. "Station Control, this is civilian transport oh-four-seven-seven, Cornerian registry alpha-tango-three-oh-sierra; requesting to dock for vacation purposes."

"Far from a vacation if you ask me," Joel muttered under his breath.

"Don't be so down on yourself, Joel," Skae smiled in reassurance. "We've got time, remember. Four days tops."

"We might need all that time if you ask me," Joel grumbled.

"We'll be fine," she gave him a nudge. "I want to have some fun away from this crazy authority you humans have."

Joel sighed and nodded in admittance as the controller spoke up again.

 _"Oh-four-seven-seven, authorization cleared. Stand by for scan."_

The closer their ship glided towards the docking bay, the more the scans for weaponry, stowaways, and overall outlawed content passed through their hull and made Joel even more nervous.

"That's ten times now…" he muttered.

"And I thought Muzzin was paranoid," Skae giggled before the scans finally stopped.

 _"Transport oh-four-seven-seven, scans complete. Docking clearance granted. Welcome to Antigone."_

Joel sighed a sigh of relief as his transport ship slowly eased into the artificial gravity of the Antigone Station before sliding up to an empty docking station and latching on. A happy little chime sounded, signaling that their ship had been secured and the passengers may exit when ready. Joel in response unlatched himself from his seat and made his way into the back where two separate suitcases were stored. His sleek black case contrasted sharply with her pure white one, but that just made identification of the owner easier. Giving the she-wolf a nod, he opened the main latch on the right side of the ship and stepped onto solid steel before following the designated line on the floor up to the check-in desk.

A young Verian female with a mint green hide greeted the human warmly as he approached the desk. "Oh, a Cornerian Terran visitor? Wow, this is a rarity. I do believe you are the first Terran we've had on this station."

Joel gave her a fake smile. "Oh, that's… interesting. I didn't know I was a first."

"Well now you do," the Verian giggled. "What is your name, if I may ask?"

Joel hesitated for nothing but a split-second before replying, "Joel."

"And do you have a reservation here, or is this just a day trip?"

"We have a reservation," Joel explained, looking back to see Skae poking up behind him. "Is it under yours or mine?" he asked the cherry red lupine.

"Mine," Skae smirked, giving the human a subtle wink before pulling out a forgery identification passport. "The reservation is under Snow."

The Verian receptionist punched in a few keys on her systems before glancing up at the tandem. "Joel and Sheila Snow?"

"That's us," Skae smiled.

"Great," the dragoness grinned back, reaching into her drawer and pulling out two key cards with their room number printed on the one side. "Your room number is 564. We will gladly take your bags up to your room so that you can enjoy your time here on Antigone."

"Oh, thanks," Joel said, pulling both his and Skae's bags over to the open area of the front counter.

"Also," the Verian continued. "Since you are our first Terran visitor, we have a few gifts for you to enjoy."

"Oh?"

The receptionist reached into her drawer yet again and pulled out two slips of paper, slathered with indistinguishable Verian writing. "These are special vouchers we only give to VIPs, in your case. They have a few things on them for you to use. Firstly, there is a special reservation at our renowned on-board restaurant for tomorrow evening for the both of you, complete with a full meal and your choice of wine. Secondly, for the missus, you may choose an outfit for the dinner; yours to keep. Finally, they have a complimentary set charge of two-hundred Prines apiece for you to use for your enjoyment."

"Wow, thanks so much," Skae smiled, batting at Joel with her tail. "Looks like taking you along was a good idea."

Joel only chuckled and pocketed the two cards. "Thank you. This is so generous of you guys."

"Oh please, it's our honor," she smiled back. "You two just enjoy yourselves here. Have fun on your honeymoon."

"Thank you— wait, _honeymoon_?!" Joel damn near yelled.

Skae erupted into laugher and pushed him away from the counter. "He's still in shock, can't you tell? Ha ha, thanks for everything, miss."

"You're welcome," the Verian giggled back, giving them one last goodbye before turning to the next group in line. Once around the corner of the reception desk and into the rather wide and spacious hallway connecting the terminal to the main lobby, Skae gave him a particularly hard nudge—more of her unknown strength rather than an intentional jab—and started laughing even harder than before.

"You should have seen the look on your face!" the lupine nearly bellowed, doubling over in laughter. She had to stop in the middle of the hallway, her uncontrollable laugher bringing her down to her knees.

"It wasn't all that funny," Joel said feebly, drowned out by the she-wolf's self-invoked laughter. His cheeks were blazing brighter than her fur dye, only making her mirthful moment more intense.

Eventually, Skae picked herself up and wiped away some tears from underneath her eyes. "Oh my goodness, Joel, that was _hysterical_! You looked so shocked!"

"Well, when someone tells me to have a good honeymoon with someone I'm not even married to, yeah I'm gonna be shocked," Joel countered. "I appreciate you playing it off, but still."

"Aww come on Joel!" Skae giggled. "Laugh it off! That was pretty funny, you've got to admit that."

Eventually, an involuntary grin crept onto Joel's lips. "I guess so."

"Hey, maybe she'll be right in due time," Skae cooed, continuing her walk down the long hallway. Joel thought about what she said for a few moments—another faint smile creasing his lips as a result—but was interrupted from his thoughts by Skae clicking her tongue at him. He trudged forward, slowly chasing after the cherry red lupine until he stepped through the large opening at the end of the hallway.

Joel stood in awe at the massive main plaza of the Antigone Station—a huge open-air area surrounded on all sides by numerous levels of shopping areas and other attractions. On top of the countless shop signs glowing in multifarious colors, Joel saw thousands of other tourists wandering around, taking in the awe-inspiring sights he was currently entranced with.

"Wow," Skae breathed. "Finding Spencer in this mess is going to be harder than I thought."

"Not really," Joel corrected. "Look; most of the people here are Verians. Spencer might be easier to find than we think."

"I hope your right," Skae muttered, turning to face him. "Let's wander around and see what we're up against first, okay?"

"Sounds good," Joel agreed, pointing to the left side of the apparent circular pathway around the base. Skae nodded, then soon thereafter the duo started traversing throughout the shopping district.

Eventually, Joel started up a conversation by asking, "So, why did you choose that name for the reservation?"

"What, Sheila?" Skae asked right back.

"Yeah, why'd you choose that?"

Skae sighed and let her ears sag a bit. "Well, when I was young, and when my father was stationed in Corneria, I met my best friend there. Her name was Sheila. Her and I got along really well, although we did have our moments—but that was to be expected from two little girls. Like I said, we were best friends, until the war broke out and we had to go back to Fichina. The last I heard from her was that she had been appointed the Husky Squadron lead pilot before the war broke out. I haven't heard or seen her since."

Joel wrapped his arm around her waist, but right as he was going to speak, a group of Verian guards shouted to grab their attention and motioned them to meet up. Both Skae and Joel were practically pissing themselves as they approached the group of heavily armored security guards, but the faint smile at least two of them were giving the couple gave them a very slight sense of security.

"Afternoon," a navy blue dragon said warmly.

"Hi," was all Joel could muster up to say.

"Hi guys; is there something wrong?" Skae asked politely.

"Nothing's wrong, ma'am," another dragon with a light brown hide replied. "We were just interested. We saw the Terran with you and we wanted to say hi."

Skae put on a fake smile and nudged the human. "Oh, okay then."

"What's your name, sir?" the third asked.

"Joel," he answered tentatively.

"What part of Corneria you staying in?"

Joel's face flushed. "I-I'm sorry?"

"You're living on Corneria, right?" the dragon questioned slowly. "You came from Terra, but you're living on Corneria, no? What city is housing you?"

"Western Highpoint," Skae spoke up, gently patting the Lieutenant's back. "Sorry, he just transferred there. Still trying to get used to the new city."

The navy blue dragon nodded. "So what brings you two here to Antigone?"

Skae smirked at Joel, and if it wasn't for their situation he would have stopped her from giving her answer but refrained to avoid making a scene. She giggled and wrapped her fuzzy arm over his neck and brought him closer.

"Oh, we're on our honeymoon."

"Aww, congrats you two," the brown dragon smiled, the turned to the rest of his group. "See? I told you there were more than just that one!"

"Jeez, sorry I didn't believe you," the third dragon muttered, lowering his ears.

"Well, sorry we bothered you," the first dragon stated. "Just one thing first, if you don't mind. Uh, for security reasons, would you two mind syncing your transmitters to our station network? It's just a minor detail we have our new guests do not only for their benefit, but for ours as well. May we?"

Skae's tail started twitching in apparent nervousness, but in order not to create a scene she had to agree. "Well, okay then. What else does this do?"

As the second dragon gently grabbed at the red-dyed she-wolf's transmitter, he explained, "Other than security reasons, this also lets us track your bio-signs. Since this is an orbital base after all, this lets us monitor signs of vertigo and other sicknesses that can arise from being here for too long. It's mainly for your wellbeing."

"Security?" Joel echoed curiously, cautiously lifting his arm up to the third dragon who started activating settings on his own hardware. "How so?"

"We're really not allowed to tell you, per say," he admitted, but when on to say, "However, we can disclose that names registered do not go into our archive unless there's apparent suspicious behavior."

"But you two look perfectly fine," the navy blue dragon interjected, smiling as the two other guards dropped their arms in unison. "Don't worry; all we do is basic background checks. Very, very basic stuff."

"Corneria's database?" Skae asked concernedly.

"Just a brief scan of Lylat and that's all," he nodded. "Now, uh, Joel? Since you just transferred to a different district of Corneria, your records won't be on file there. I'll spare you two the drama of making you sit for an hour or two while we do extensive research on your old station, so… that's it. I'll let you two go and enjoy your time here. Sorry we bothered you."

"Thank you officer," Joel replied, internally sighing in relief. _That was way too close._

"Yes, thanks officer," Skae smiled, shaking the main guard's hand. "Have a good day."

"You as well, my friends," he grinned. "Enjoy your honeymoon."

"Oh, we will, thanks," Skae smiled widely, tugging on Joel's arm. "Come on, hon, I wanna look around more."

 _"You're pushing it,"_ Joel growled under his breath. Once Skae managed to pull him out of earshot of the security guards, Joel grabbed her arms and held her put while he said, "I know we're supposed to be blending in, but don't you think you're going overboard?"

"Sorry," Skae blushed a little. "I don't know how to act like a couple on a trip. You're really the first… well… _boyfriend_ … I've ever had, Joel."

The human smirked with half of his face. "Is that what you're calling me now?"

Skae giggled, stepping up to the tips of her toes to rest her muzzle on top of Joel's head. "I guess so, but you're a little too short. Usually the male in a relationship is taller, therefore has more authority. Does that mean I'm the boss of this operation?"

"In your dreams," Joel nearly scoffed. "A few inches doesn't make you any better than me."

Skae purred and nuzzled up to him. "Aww, someone's feeling self-conscious, isn't he?"

"S-shut up," Joel stuttered, only making Skae's pleasure exponentiate.

"I'm just teasing, Joel," Skae gigged, grabbing his arm and holding it against her chest. "Now, come on. I wanna get my dress for tomorrow."

"You're seriously getting a dress?" Joel almost groaned, letting himself get led along by the she-wolf.

"Yes!" Skae replied with a scoff, implying the human was stupid for even asking that question. "I've never had a full-on dress before. Fichina is too cold to have them."

"I just can't see you in a dress," Joel admitted. "I mean, no offense, but you're not the type of person I would think would get a dress given the opportunity."

"Okay, so I may not be the most feminine person," Skae sighed. "But I've always wanted to. I never did want to go into the militia, to be honest. I always wanted to be a doctor, or a teacher. But, the town needed me to hunt and fight, so I did what they needed me to do."

"But you're very good at it," Joel remarked, grinning at the red lupine as his voice lowered a bit. "I mean, the way you handled yourself on Cerinia was impressive."

Skae blushed unnoticeably and pulled his arm, therefore bringing him closer to her. "Aww, thanks. You're quite a soldier yourself."

"You can thank my father for that," Joel commented.

"Did he force you in?"

"He knew I was good when I was younger," the human explained. "He says I always had a sixth-sense when it comes to combat. I knew more about strategies when I was in high school than my father when he was a two star general. But, I never wanted to truly get into the military. I went to the state university for creative writing, of all the things."

"You? Really?" Skae about laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want," Joel chuckled, feeling his cheeks start to warm up. "I was one hell of a writer back then. I wanted to write a book for the longest time, but right when I started planning everything out… the whole incident with Corneria happened."

Skae nodded, but instead of pressing further, she pointed at a little bistro nestled in the fork of two intersecting paths. "Mind if we grab something to eat quickly?"

"Good idea," Joel smiled, wrapping his arm around her waist to lead her in the right direction. They approached the little bistro, and since it wasn't busy at all they were immediately seated at a table on the outside wing of the perimeter. It didn't take long for either of them to place their orders, so while they waited for their food to be brought to them, Skae continued her discussion.

"So, what happened on your end?"

"With Corneria's invasion?" Joel asked.

Skae nodded. "Your father told me about what happened briefly, but I wanted to hear it from you. Care to explain?"

Joel sighed and slumped in his seat. "I really don't like talking about this…"

The she-wolf's expression suddenly became concerned. "Oh, you don't have to if you don't—"

"No, you asked; the least I can do is clarify," Joel interrupted, resting an elbow on the table. "Like I said earlier, six years ago I was at my town's local university, and I was going to major in writing. It was about halfway through the day, and I was in the lecture hall when the first bombs fell. There was no warning at all. They just stormed in and destroyed the entire city, and without another word they were gone. The entire city was destroyed, including the university."

Shifting in his seat, Joel continued, "I can't tell you how many of my friends at the university were killed. It was just… such a shock. It hurt. There was just that question of… well… why is this even happening? Is this real? What did we do that was so wrong in the first place?"

The human sighed. "And then we found out that the attacks were based off of misleading information, therefore accidental. When they tried to tell me it was an accident, I was livid. All of my friends dead because of an accident? I wouldn't believe it. I wanted to pay them back, whoever they were. So, I accepted my father's offer that he had given me years back, which was a spot on his personal training platoon. Six years later, here I am."

Skae slowly nodded her head. "Your father mentioned that you changed after the attack."

Joel shut his eyes. "Well, when you completely change your life because of one little _mistake_ , surely things are gonna change. I changed from someone wanting to write for a living into someone who wanted to bring that same hell on those filthy dogs on Corneria. Did my father think I was gonna stay the same person?"

Skae was slightly taken aback. "Well, no, but—"

"My father wanted the best of me in training, so that's what I did. I concentrated on what I wanted to do. There wasn't any room for my old self."

The lupine gently reached out at him. "Joel, wait, I—"

"I lost my brother and sister when Corneria attacked!" he started to seethe, ignoring the she-wolf completely. "Half of my family was taken away from me! And he thinks after all that I'll be the same person?"

Joel took a few heavy breaths through his teeth, gradually letting his anger simmer down. He looked up at Skae, who looked genuinely concerned with the human's well-being. All of a sudden he realized that even through all he had gone through in this short week—going from highs and lows and everything in between—Skae was there to be that consoling figure. It was that same consolation that he had fallen in love with. That tenderness and compassion was helping him get through the worst time of his life.

Reaching out and gently grasping her paw with his hands, he whispered, "I'll admit, I'm not the same person as I was years ago. I changed for the worse. I had no sense of love… Ya know, one of my close friends—before he was killed in this god-forsaken counter-measure—would tell me the same thing over and over again when either he, I, or another friend felt that sting of hardship in life after the war. Granted, it was less than consoling, but it stuck with me so much that I have it memorized for the most part."

"What was it?" she asked intently.

Joel locked eyes with her and said, "In the midst of hardship, the mind will try to find comfort in lies. The mind will search for that extra bit of help, sometimes exaggerating it to try to help the person feel happy. That's all the mind wants is to feel happy, so it will try to find that happiness in whatever it wants. Sometimes it will try to cling on to the past or manifest itself in a false idea, but it doesn't care. It just wants to feel happy and… most of all, loved."

Joel started chuckling. "Why do you think I joined the ranks and wanted to take the fight back to Corneria? Because we believed that it was Corneria's fault our world was almost decimated. We blamed them. It's the same for when Corneria thought we bombed them six years ago. They wanted someone to take the blame to give them a target, and they bought into the false idea that getting revenge would make them feel better. We stupidly fell for that same idea as well."

The human sighed and slowly shut his eyes. "This entire conflict isn't a matter of who did what. It's really a battle of psychology. The mind tries to act against us to make us feel like we have importance, and when that happens, a battle is almost guaranteed. It's the reason why we're on the brink of another war, and it's really the reason we're out here in the first place."

Joel stayed silent for a little bit, but eventually he gently squeezed the lupine's paw and grinned at her. "But… I'm sure you know the saying that fate works in wondrous ways. Just think if we didn't have this mentality… we never would have met, and our lives would be in opposite directions. Like I said, the mind tries to warp lies into truths, but the main point my friend made was that you always need to keep your mind sharp, but your heart open. My mind tried to convince me that everyone in this system were the enemies… Obviously my heart said otherwise, because it found… well… you."

Skae giggled and grabbed at his hands. "So are you happy that you're a stupid human?"

Joel snorted softly. "Couldn't be happier."

A few moments later the waitress returned with their meals and a small bottle of almost clear wine. She took the liberty of pouring the couple respective drinks after setting their meals in front of them, and after asking if they needed anything else—to which they declined—she scurried off to take her next order. Joel winked at Skae and lifted his glass up, Skae doing the same.

"To us?" Joel asked.

Skae clinked her glass against his, grinning the entire time.

"To us."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

"No, no no no no no, that's not how you do it," Miyu interrupted, gently grabbing the sandy vixen's arm. "You're trying to put too much weight on the wrong joint. You gotta put it h— loosen up here Fara. You put it _here_ , that way you can easily do—"

Miyu suddenly and effortlessly pulled on Fara's arm, flinging her over her shoulder. She landed on her back hard; the sickening sound of her tail hitting the mat resounding through the training area. A low groan formed in her throat as she laid there in predominant shock.

"That," Miyu finished, dusting her paws off.

"I hate training with you," Fara blurted out.

"Sorry hon; you gotta learn somehow."

Fara rolled over onto her stomach, looking up at the three other females in the room. "Anyone else want to take my place?"

"I really shouldn't," Arcene replied, gently pawing at her exposed belly. "Don't want to do anything that could hurt the kit."

Fay's eyes suddenly enlarged as she turned her gaze to the silver vixen and squealed. "OH! I almost forgot! Congrats Arcy! I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks Fay," she giggled. "I still can't believe it."

"How'd Fox take it?" Miyu asked.

"Oh, heh, Fox about pissed himself," Arcene laughed aloud. "He wasn't expecting it at all. But, after that shock faded away he was ecstatic. I've never seen him so happy before."

Fara popped back up to her feet and cracked her knuckles loudly, getting the attention of the other girls. "Okay, enough about that. Miyu, let's do that again. You and me, toots."

Miyu let a small smirk crease her muzzle. "You're on."

As the two girls sized each other up in the center of the mat, Fay leaned over to Arcene and whispered, "Is Fara okay with that? She didn't look too happy when you told us."

"That's just Fara being Fara," Arcene answered tiredly, ignoring the fight unfolding in the center of the room completely. "Jealous rich girl at her finest. I'm honestly amazed Fox took her back the way she acts around him. I don't trust her."

"What made Fox break up with her at first?"

Arcene sighed. "Something about her stealing his files behind his back. Fox had a full design of a Cornerian warship that would have been a staple in the CDF, but she stole it and now Phoenix Industries is in the process of creating it for the war against Veris."

"Wow," the third girl, a brown vixen and feline hybrid gasped. "Poor Fox."

"And that's why I'm kinda suspicious of Fara," Arcene continued. "Fox took her back awfully fast."

"Hey, at least Fox trusted you enough to carry his kit," Fay said to lighten the mood.

Arcene smiled and nodded. "He's such a sweetheart. It was so cute to see his face when—"

 ** _THUD_**

 _"Dammit Miyu!"_

Miyu exploded into laughter as Fara let another groan of pain leave her muzzle. "Come on, hon, you're better than that."

Fara again rolled onto her stomach and stared at the other girls. "Can someone please take my place?"

All three of them simultaneously shook their heads in negativity.

"How about you Mira?" she asked desperately. "Please?"

The hybrid looked at her wrist and grabbed the back of her neck. "Oh, ah, jeez, I'd love to Fara, but I need to take my break."

"You're not even wearing a watch!" the fennec exclaimed.

"Bye girls," Mira blurted out before slipping out of the training room. Fara let a burst of air out of her mouth and fell back on her face.

"I take it we're done for the day," Miyu chuckled, gently kicking at Fara's tail. "Let's go grab something to eat."

"I'm coming too!" Fay exclaimed, running after the lynx. They both exited the room and chased after Mira, leaving Arcene and Fara in silence. Arcene approached the prone vixen and kicked at her tail just like Miyu did.

"Come on Fara, let's go."

Fara gently picked up her muzzle, but upon seeing the silver vixen she contorted her face into a repulsive scowl. "Euck. Don't start with me."

Arcene cocked her ears. "Sorry?"

"No you're not," she grunted, picking herself up to her feet.

"What? What did I do?" the silver vixen asked.

"Flaunting that accident of yours," Fara spat, gesturing to her exposed stomach.

That instantly tipped a wire in Arcene's head. "Excuse me?"

"You know good and well that what you have there wasn't planned in the slightest," the fennec continued, glaring at the other vixen. "You knew that you couldn't train if you had _that_ , and it would get you out of fighting too, so—"

"You think I forced him to do that?" Arcene growled. "Are you really that dense? Can't you see that Fox loves me and trusts me enough to carry his kit? Obviously he doesn't think the same to you."

Fara growled back and closed the distance between them. "At least I have a spine to tell Fox that I'm not ready, unlike you."

"Who says I wasn't?"

"You're not even married yet!"

"Yet," Arcene countered. "Fox even told me he was gonna marry me someday. He was waiting until both he and I felt comfortable in committing to that."

"Oh, sure, you don't commit to that, but yet you let him have his way with you!"

"Why are you so against this?" Arcene questioned harshly.

"I'm just against you not being able to go ten seconds without saying, 'Oh, look at me! Fox McCloud fucked me and now I'm gonna have his bastard kit!'"

Arcene snarled and grabbed at the fennec's shirt, damn near pressing her nose against hers. "No different than you going on and on about your family's wealth! Don't you think you're being a little hypocritical?"

"I can't deny the fact that my family has a wealthy heritage, but I can deny being vocal about it."

"But you don't! You don't stop talking about how much money you and your family makes."

"No different than you flaunting your accident," Fara countered.

Arcene snarled again, tightening her hold on Fara's shirt, causing her to giggle softly.

"Ooh, you like grabbing other girls like this, don't you?"

Arcene shot her a quizzical look.

"Oh, don't play dumb with me," Fara snapped. "Weren't you in a relationship with that one vixen behind Fox's back years ago?"

"That was two years ago," Arcene retorted.

"So?" the fennec vixen smirked. "You still were seeing someone else along with Fox, and this someone else was another girl. You see what I'm getting at?"

"Leave me alone!" the silver vixen yipped. "Sorry if I am who I am. Fox still accepts me, regardless of my disposition. Maybe you should learn—"

"I'm not getting a sex-ed lecture from a bisexual, thank you," Fara interrupted, forcing Arcene's paws away from her. "You should really learn what sex you want. You are having Fox's kit after all."

"Well at least I don't break my mate's trust by stealing their blueprints," Arcene argued. "And you have the audacity to try and get back together with him even after the shit you put him through? Don't you think you've stolen enough from him?"

Fara growled menacingly. "At least I had the balls to admit my faults, and Fox was kind enough to forgive me. I may have changed enough to admit what I did wrong and say I'm sorry for it, but I certainly don't regret getting away from you!"

"You're gonna pin this off on me?"

"I didn't say that," Fara scoffed. "I said that I'm tired of sharing someone I love with you."

"At least I love him enough to let him stay with you," Arcene growled. "But I guess that was a mistake!"

Fara's face immediately turned crimson in rage. "Oh, you're gonna wish you never said that. Mark my words, Arcene Grau, you will have hell to pay!"

"That makes two of us!" Arcene snapped back, just as the fennec stormed out of the room, harshly slamming the door shut behind her.

The silver vixen balled her paws to try and calm her anger down, but only succeeded when she let out a loud, echoing—

"Bitch!"

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

 _Remember the moment  
You left me alone and  
Broke every promise you've ever made  
I was an ocean  
Lost in the open  
Nothing could take the pain away_

 _So you can throw me to the wolves  
Tomorrow I will come back  
Leader of the whole pack  
Beat me black and blue  
Every wound will shape me  
Every scar will build my throne_

 _*Bring Me The Horizon – Throne*_


	18. By My Hammer

**_Quick note: I realize that FF's review servers are botched up right now, as in you can't see new reviews pop up, but do know I can still see your reviews by the notifications I get via email, as long as they're not five full essay paragraphs. Please don't be discouraged from leaving a review because of the faulty servers. I will still read them and reply to them as I do, or at least *try* to do. So, that being said, please leave your thoughts, and if your review gets cut off because of the truncated email notifications, I'll send a message asking to fill in what I may have missed.  
_**

 ** _Thanks, and enjoy. ~Sheppard  
_**

* * *

 _The city's beautiful  
Feeling the morning air  
Love the smell of sunrise  
Everything becomes so clear_

 _I think you are beautiful  
And you know it by one look  
Did you long for summertime  
When you were growing up?_

 _When your life's just a breeze in eternity  
Why not take this one chance and come fly with me?  
Just this once  
Just this second that soon will be gone_

 _*London Elektricity – Just One Second*_

* * *

 **Chapter 18: By My Hammer**

* * *

 _"Temporary Chief of Staff Victor Muzzin has been hard at work all day despite being injured in an assassination attempt earlier this week that claimed the life of former Chief of Staff Wes Jaeger. After being present at General Jaeger's memorial service via satellite connectivity, he assured the people present, as well as the people at home that they—being the Verian people—would not get away with murdering their beloved general. However, the memorial service did not go as planned, as a very heated dispute between Prime Minister Muzzin and Secretary of Defense Reeves broke out shortly after Muzzin's testimony. As a result of this, the Cornerian Parliament is currently under an emergency shutdown, and no additional diplomatic actions will take place today._

 _"However, Minister Muzzin did reiterate that his ordinance of combat is still active. A message from him states, 'To those who have received the CDF draft slip, you must report to your designated Defense Force branch and await further instructions from your superior officer'. Muzzin has not yet disclosed or confirmed the intentions for this mandated draft, but he says that it is to keep his intentions from unwanted ears. We will release more information when it becomes available to us. For the Cornerian News Network, I'm Kelly Green."_

As the screen transitioned to an opossum weatherman, Fox lowered the volume of the TV and turned his gaze to the vixen sitting next to him. As soon as his stare locked with Arcene's orange eyes, the silver vixen whimpered and nuzzled up to him.

"I'm scared Fox," she squeaked out, burying herself into Fox's shirt. The orange vulpine gently wrapped his arm around her mostly exposed back and brought her in closer, softly scratching her fur in an attempt to calm her down.

"I know, baby," Fox's soft-spoken voice replied, melting her worries with his soothing voice. "I'm scared too."

"What's gonna happen to us?" she asked concernedly, her innocent eyes piercing right through the tod.

"I don't know," was all Fox could say. He rested his muzzle on her head and said, "But I know that we'll be okay. We'll be safe."

"Promise me we'll be safe?" Arcene pleaded.

Fox sighed and pinned his ears against the back of his head. "I don't like promising anything, to be honest. Can't you just take my word for it?"

Arcene gently lifted her head off of his chest and cocked her ears. "Why don't you?"

"When I was younger, I heard way too many people promise me things, and none of them came true," Fox explained, looking down at the floor. "The last person that promised me I would be safe was Wolf when we were stuck on Earth. I was safe, but… the people I loved weren't. Ever since then I hated promises, because it was hit-or-miss if they came true or not."

Arcene sniffed and gently nuzzled herself underneath Fox's muzzle. "What about now, though?"

"What about now?" Fox echoed, shrugging. "Everything is a mess. There's no telling what can happen now. I'm just… I don't want to promise you anything because I don't want you to be heartbroken when it doesn't happen."

"But telling me we _won't_ be okay won't help either," Arcene countered, her voice beginning to shake. "Fox, I just want to hear it from you. Be honest with me. Will we be okay?"

Fox reestablished his eye contact with her, and as soon as he did he froze up. He was stuck. He couldn't lie to her face, but he also didn't want her to feel hopeless either. He wasn't sure himself on what would happen to them, and although he wanted to be optimistic, he couldn't promise anything. He didn't want to promise anything. Telling her no would devastate her though, and he definitely needed her on his side.

Swallowing his hesitance, Fox nodded and said, "We'll be okay, Arcy. I… I promise."

The smile on her face was definitely a fitting reward for what he committed to. After being in a solemn mood for almost the entire day, Arcene finally let some genuine happiness show by giving Fox the most relieved smile she could ever let show. That simple smile made Fox's heart melt into slush.

Fox then tightened his hold on Arcene, using his other arm to cradle her shoulder as she laid herself on his chest. As a result, the silver vixen let out a rather loud purr of affection, letting her tail flick around erratically. She loved when she was on the receiving end of a tight and loving embrace, especially with him. For Fox, he loved it when she was in the mood for affection, which was… well… always. However, he was just happy to be the one she fell in love with.

"Fox?" she spoke up softly, gently rubbing his leg.

"Yes?"

"I love you."

Fox ears started burning again. Giving her a tender kiss on her forehead, he replied, "I love you too."

Again, Arcene started purring. Twisting her body around to look up at him—her head gently resting in his lap—she smiled and said, "I'm the luckiest vixen alive, aren't I?"

Fox let a smug grin surface. "Well, you could say that."

"Fox, I'm about to start your family," she reminded, rubbing her exposed belly fur. "If that isn't lucky, I don't know what is."

"Don't get too full of yourself, okay?" he asked her seriously. "You still gotta take care of yourself. Eat healthy, exercise, sleep well, and don't let that stress eat at you. Remember, that kit is only gonna be as healthy as you make him."

Arcene smirked at him. "What makes you so sure it'll be a boy?"

"Just a guess, I suppose," he chuckled, scratching the back of the vixen's paw. "I'll be happy either way."

Abruptly changing the tone of their conversation, Arcene suddenly said, "So, what's the deal with Fara?"

Fox raised an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?"

"You're not gonna stay with her, are you?" she asked, her voice assuming a tone of skepticism.

"For my sake, I think I have to," Fox admitted. "Fara might be a little… _controlling_ , but I honestly think she's my only chance of getting credit for the Battlecruiser _Phoenix_."

"Are you seriously staying with her for the fame?" Arcene about growled.

"Not just for that," the vulpine countered, looking down at the floor. "She reminds me of you. A beautiful, young vixen with a fiery personality, yet a soft, compassionate side underneath all of that too."

"I don't like her," the silver vixen blurted out, lifting herself out of Fox's chest.

"Arcy—"

"Fox, she doesn't like me," she continued, her voice beginning to falter again. "She's mad at me because… well… this," she rubbed at her stomach. "And kept telling me that this was a mistake."

"Well, it obviously was, but—"

Arcene gasped. "Fox!"

"But we both agreed that we would care for it and love it as if it was planned all along," Fox continued. "Yeah, it was an accident that I got you pregnant, but you know what? We're both happy, and that's all that matters."

"Fara doesn't think so," the vixen muttered.

"She's just jealous that she isn't you," Fox reminded, gently cupping her paws in his own. "No matter what she says and what she does, you'll always be my true love. Maybe give us a few years, and she'll be in your same position. But that's only if we can settle those differences."

"I don't want to," Arcene grunted, pouting like a little girl.

"I know you don't," Fox said softly. "But you know what you have that she doesn't?"

Arcene cocked her head confusedly.

Fox sighed, psyching himself up for what he was about to do. Giving the vixen a warm, soothing smile, he reached into his pocket… and froze.

The ring. It wasn't there.

 _Shit!_

Refusing to panic, Fox played it off like a champion, and luckily Arcene didn't even notice him reach down. Dammit, it was the perfect setting and opportunity. Where the hell was the ring? He couldn't propose to her without it.

Yet, as fate would have it, Fox actually felt relieved. He didn't want to feel that way, but something eating away at the back of his mind told him it was too soon. He needed to wait and see what would happen before he tried to tie the knot only for it to come undone too soon. He didn't have any reason to believe she would, but just playing it safe and waiting did seem like a better alternative.

Speaking of better alternatives, Fox's mind didn't leave him hanging in that awkward situation. It thought of something to fill the gap the missing ring left him, and he truthfully liked this option better. He reached behind his neck, expertly unlatched the lock, and pulled apart the two separate ends of his golden necklace. He pulled it out of his neck, stared at the small, glimmering cross limply hanging from the bottom of the chain, and—refusing to break his stare on the vixen—gently wrapped it around her neck, snapping the lock back in place.

"Fox…" she whispered in shock, lifting the charm with her claw.

"I want you to keep it," Fox said, gently closing her paw around the small charm. "You need it more than I do."

Arcene just stared at him, completely dumbfounded.

"Nathan told me that necklace gives the wearer faith," Fox explained. "It's what you need. I can't promise anything to you, but I can tell you to have faith in the situation, your friends, and me."

The silver vixen looked down at the necklace, then back into Fox's eyes with hers glazed over with tears.

"I want you to trust me," the vulpine pleaded softly, sending shivers down her spine with how silky smooth his voice was. "Can you do that?"

Arcene nodded. "I trust you."

Fox peeled her fingers away from the cross charm, letting the metal glimmer in the light. "That's what you have that Fara doesn't."

Once again, their eyes met after glancing down at the charm, and this time neither wanted to break the stare. The way that they saw their reflection in each other's eyes made them feel like they had fallen in love with each other all over again. The way their eyes reflected each other showcased a deeper love that ordinary words could not express more profoundly than the moment of their still tranquility.

At that moment where their eyes met, nothing else mattered. There was no war, no conflict, and no uncertainty in that very moment their eyes locked up. Nothing bad mattered at that time. All they saw was the positive in the world. Their future. Their family. Although the world they were living in was falling apart by the second, they found something to fight for. Each other.

The moment their eyes met, nothing could get in their way.

Just the way they liked it.

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Since the Antigone Verian Station doubled as both a tourist attraction as well as a strategic military outpost for the VGC, there was a distinct area designated for military purposes aboard the massive station. Separate docking bays, separate lodging options, and separate training facilities completed Antigone's military wing, and although it was blocked off from civilian usage, it still was packed with soldiers and Guardians alike, stationed there in case of emergency. In this day and age, Corneria was unpredictable, so everyone would be able to jump into action to protect the station at a moment's notice.

Within the protective field of the Antigone Station resided Jona's _Renown_ , inactive at the moment due to the captain, his wife, and his Guardian's absence from the cruiser—although Sheila's ace trainee Jadyn Draisaitl and her squadron were charged with the safekeeping of the ship. Without so much as an identity check or scan, Jona's transport was cleared for docking, and within moments he, Quina, and Wolf stepped onto the station's solid flooring.

"Wow… this is incredible," Quina sighed in awe. "This is like a whole other planet."

"It's the pride and joy of Kislick engineering," Jona grinned. "Always up to date with the best technology available. This has been in commission for hundreds of years, yet it looks brand new, doesn't it?"

"It's beautiful," Quina replied, taking in the sights of the large docking bay. "Don't you think so too, Wolf?"

Wolf just grunted in reply, adjusting the strap on his ACR. "I shouldn't be here."

Jona stopped in his tracks and immediately turned around to stare at him disapprovingly. "Don't start with this. You're needed here more than you realize."

"I promised my wife that I would be home right after Papetoon," Wolf interrupted. "She's already upset with me because I left her without warning her. Now I'm blowing her off by going on another assignment."

"Sheila knows you're here," Jona affirmed.

"So you called her _first_?" Wolf nearly growled. "If anything _I_ should have been the one to let her know I would be another couple of days. Fuck's sake, Jona, are you trying to get her to hate me?"

"Wolf—"

"Jona, you _know_ how much she means to me," Wolf's voice started to shake. "Forcing me to go on missions that's keeping me away from her isn't what I signed up for! I just want to be at home with her!"

"Calm down, Wolf," Quina said softly. "This anger is not good for you."

"Stay out of this," Wolf said sternly, causing the Cerinian's eyes widen and the Verian's hands to ball up. "I agreed to be a Guardian, and a Guardian is supposed to protect what is closest to his heart. Right now I'm pretty fuckin' far away from who I love, don't'cha think?"

"Enough!" Jona snapped, uncharacteristically staring daggers at the lupine. "If you don't want to be here, then you can pack up your shit and go home!"

"Jona," Quina gasped.

"I extended my hospitality to you and Sheila by letting you two seek asylum on Veris," Jona continued. "Don't make me regret it because of your actions."

" _My_ actions?" Wolf scoffed. " _You_ are keeping me from my family, thank you."

"Obviously you haven't fought in a war before," Jona countered.

"And where were you during the First Contact War?" Wolf growled. "Sitting on your ass and watching families get torn apart? I almost lost everything because of that!"

Jona took a few heavy steps forward and almost butted snouts with Wolf, glaring at the lupine with genuine fury. Wolf returned the look, resulting in a tense standoff that could break down at the slightest movement.

The next thing that happened flipped Wolf's anger into genuine confusion. At first he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but he could have sworn that he saw Jona's frame distort for a split-second. The air around the gray dragon seemingly darkened and shook, and for a fraction of a second he saw the dragon's eyes change color from that blood red to a deep, piercing blue. Wolf tentatively took a few steps back, genuinely concerned as the apparition faded into thin air as quick as it popped up.

Quina immediately acted and grabbed Jona's upper arms from behind. "Jona, calm down! You know what happens when—"

Jona growled in the back of his throat and tightly shut his eyes, falling down to one knee and breathing heavily. Quina gasped yet again and knelt down to his level, gently rubbing him down to soothe him.

"Jona?" Wolf called out hesitantly. "Jona, what's going on? What happened?"

The Verian eventually recovered, then gently cupped Quina's paws in his hands and whispered, "I'm okay, my love. Just lost control for a moment."

Jona lifted himself back up to his feet, then locked eyes with Wolf. Jona couldn't keep a straight face when he noticed how frightened the lupine's expression was. That little slip immediately spiked Wolf's anger.

"What the fuck was that?!"

Jona shook his head; that smirk still plastered onto his snout. "Let's just hope you don't have to find out."

"That's not the answer I wanted," Wolf said sternly.

Jona sighed, his ears falling flat, and gestured for the lupine to follow. Begrudgingly, Wolf accepted, and as the trio exited the hangar and made their way towards the civilian end, Jona stated, "It's more complicated to explain than it's worth."

"Does this have something to do with what Aeon said to me?" Wolf asked.

"Depends. What did he say to you?"

"He called you the Demon Prince," Wolf replied, raising an eyebrow. "Not just him, but a few other Guardians around Veris have referred to you as such. So… what's the deal?"

Jona sighed once more, letting his tail drag against the ground. "It references the last uprising I fought in. Brute and I were in the same squadron as Knight Lieutenants, along with a captain and a few initiates. We fought a lot of bloody battles, but all six of us prevailed in every engagement we were a part of. But… that was when Brute betrayed us."

The Verian breathed heavily, cringing at the remembrance of those events. "He sold us out; gave away our position to the enemy and got us captured. Brute personally slit the captain's throat. The initiates he executed… not before he and a few others took the female initiate and… …I'll spare the details. Quina has a weak stomach; she doesn't want to hear this."

"I understand," Wolf nodded, his ears and tail losing every bit of life they had in them moments prior. "What happened to you?"

"Remember what I said about anger?" Jona asked, to which Wolf nodded in affirmation. "I was overcome with rage. I let it consume me. Before Brute could even get close to me with that blade covered in the blood of my team, I snapped in half. Over four hundred Darkoni soldiers dead at my hands. The camp completely burned and leveled to its foundations. They fled, so I could bury my squad as peacefully as I could."

Wolf shot the dragon a quizzical look. "That's really hard to believe. You're one soldier against hundreds."

"Then how is it possible that one guardian stood against an entire invading force on Cerinia and single-handedly wiped over half of them out?" Jona countered, glaring back at the lupine. "For a trained Guardian, feats like this—albeit rare—aren't unheard of. However, they fall under two categories. One, being in Roja's case, was a selfless act of self-sacrifice to protect the people he loved. The other is a mental snap of sorts, which is what I experienced. It's a combination of rage, frustration, hatred, and fear. As I told you before, a combination such as that is not good for a Guardian. Things happen. Undesirable, painful experiences that can unleash hell on whoever was stupid and ignorant enough to invoke that sort of anger. In short, Wolf… let's just pray you don't find out the specifics."

Wolf only huffed and repositioned the rifle slung on his back. "Didn't really answer my question of what that was."

Jona shook his head. "They had me transferred to protection after the incident, mainly for sanity reasons because if that were to happen again, I may not be standing here. That's where I met Quina, Krystal, and Krys' family. They kept me sane. I almost regressed into that rage-induced state when Cerinia was attacked, but Quina… she helped me through. And I'm proud to say that she and I will never leave each other's side."

Jona gently grabbed Quina's paw and showed off the silver band around her ring finger. "It's not a marriage, it's merely a formal bond. We're together, and nothing will separate that."

"Wish I could say the same to my girl," Wolf mumbled.

"Sheila understood that you were needed," Quina explained. "She was a little upset, but she understood and she'll be waiting patiently for your return."

"Gee, that makes me feel so much better," Wolf remarked bitterly, letting his ears fold back. "How's she and the pup?"

"She said she's been feeling fine; no complications or sicknesses," the Cerinian answered. "She's watching over Krystal, so she's not lonely if that's what you're worried about."

"I'm worried about her not being with me, thank you," Wolf snapped back.

Jona shot Wolf yet another glare, to which Wolf rolled his eyes and scoffed at.

"Let's just get this over with," the lupine remarked, flipping his assault rifle back into his paws. "What are we doing here?"

"We're expecting a former Fichinian militia member named Spencer Frost," Jona said, pulling up his file on his wrist transmitter. "He escaped, and set up the meeting here, saying he needed to reconcile for the awful acts he had done. Since he's willingly obliging with spilling information, he's not being charged for his previous crimes."

"Unless it's a trap," Wolf butted in. "This seems way too easy."

"Nobody said it was going to be easy," Jona countered. "He could give us false information. He could lead us in the wrong direction. Hell, he might stand us up and not show up at all. There are variables, but you know what? You're a Guardian. You adapt to whatever situation you're presented."

"I'm honestly tired of hearing that I'm a Guardian," Wolf angrily growled. "I'm not. There is nothing I have that a Guardian needs to be successful."

"Not all Guardians are perfect," Jona assured. "So what you made one mistake? I've lost count of how many mistakes I've made."

"Do you remember your first?"

"As clear as day."

Wolf turned his gaze to the dragon and gave him a look plagued with disbelief and utter frustration. "See?" he essentially barked out, clutching at his forehead. "This is really eating away at me. I've really… never felt so guilty before… I feel like I've done something horribly wrong."

"Aeon was a master at deception," the Verian assured. "Nothing he said can be taken as fact right away."

"Still doesn't make me feel like I did the right thing," Wolf muttered.

"Trust me, you did," Jona smiled, patting Wolf's shoulder. "And it won' be long at all before we get the information we need to end this conflict, and then you and your wife can be at peace. That I can promise you."

"I sure hope you're right," the lupine said, letting his head hang again. "I miss her."

"I know, my friend," the dragon sighed. "It hurt when I was away from Quina and Krys when the VGC retracted from Cerinia, but since I promised them I would see them again, it gave me something to fight for. I made myself a vow that I would fight to see them again."

Wolf growled to himself and waved a paw in Jona's direction to dismiss him. "I'm getting tired of hearing you compare my life to yours. You have no idea, bud."

Jona shook his head as the lupine walked away. "Sorry."

 **'Something is wrong with Wolf,'** Jona heard Quina's voice in his head. He turned to see a concerned expression plastered on her slender muzzle, with her eyes occasionally sparing glances to the lupine who took the head of the group.

Jona thought back at her, **'I know. I can feel his anxiety.'**

 **'It's more than that,'** Quina responded. **'He's frustrated. Angry. Afraid. I'm worried that he might snap. What he's feeling is a perfect combination of mental instability, and if this keeps up—'**

 **'I know, my love,'** Jona interrupted. **'I'll do my best to get him back under control.'**

Jona picked up his pace slightly to be able to walk parallel to the lupine. Wolf spared a glance, and it was apparent that his evident displeasure was shining above any other emotion. The Verian could detect that nasty aura of overall anger and hatred hanging over the lupine like a storm cloud, just waiting for that mixture to evolve into a supercell that would cause havoc on anything in its path. Gently, Jona put his arm in front of Wolf, stopping him.

"What?" Wolf spat impatiently.

"I'm sorry," Jona said, flattening his ears. "Really, I am. I wouldn't have brought you along for this, but we need you. Our guy said that he would feel more comfortable talking to a Cornerian than a Verian."

"I understand that," Wolf replied impatiently. "I'm just upset that I couldn't talk to my wife about this."

Jona closed his eyes and sighed. "There's more to it. Tell me."

Wolf stayed silent.

"It's about Darkon, isn't it?" Jona asked.

The lupine sighed and bowed his head. "I can't shake the thought that he might be innocent in this ordeal."

"Like I said, Aeon is a master in deception," Jona said reassuringly. "Believe me, he's fooled many in his lifetime, including myself. What I'm getting at is that you shouldn't feel regret. You did the right thing. You just need to keep telling yourself that you did."

Wolf growled in the back of his throat. "People said that about James too."

Jona genuinely froze up. For the first time in quite a long time, he didn't know how to effectively and correctly respond to a statement. He couldn't tell him he did the right thing because that would piss him off even more. Hell, that was his father he had to put down like an animal. Jona couldn't tell him that what he did was better than any other alternative.

Jona finally broke the awkward silence by saying, "Wolf, remember the positives. James may have been sick in the head, but what about the times that he wasn't? He raised you, did he not? He taught you the tools of the trade, no?"

Wolf hesitated slightly. "Well… yeah, I guess. He did help me learn a few maneuvers in a fighter."

"And he was there for you when you needed him?"

"For the most part," Wolf answered. "Before he lost his mind, he was a great father figure to both me and Fox. He introduced me to Sheila too, and now we're married and expecting a kid."

"Exactly," Jona grinned. "Just remember the positive times you two shared, and I guarantee you'll start feeling better. Trust me."

"I'll take your word on it," Wolf answered, prompting Jona to nod and gesture him forward. Again, Wolf took the head of the pack, traveling down the corridor that linked the military wing with the tourist terminal. Along the way, he did start to feel calmer and less tense. Yet, he still felt a bit worried about Sheila.

With her wellbeing nagging at the back of his head, Wolf stepped forward into the terminal, eyes peeled for his target.

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Holding up the wall with his back, Lieutenant McClellan stood mere inches away from the entryway to the changing rooms inside of the nice formal getup store they found immediately after eating. Although he was happy that Skae might have found something so soon, being that the outfit she found was the third or fourth dress she found, he was starting to become impatient. She disappeared into the changing room almost five minutes ago. What was taking her so long?

Joel fixed his stance, and in moving his leg he almost fell over. God he felt a bit tipsy. He did down three glasses of wine during their meal, but Joel always had a high alcohol tolerance. Unless that wine they got was pure alcohol, three drinks wouldn't affect him as much as he was affected now. His vision started to swim and distort slightly, his eyes slowly began to shut on their own, and for a while there he couldn't tell if he was standing, sitting, or lying on the floor. Luckily, he did have enough inhibitions to coherently tell an employee that he was waiting for his "girlfriend" to get changed.

Even if it was an undercover mission and it didn't matter anyway, he still would not commit to a full-fledged fake marriage. Yet, the more he thought about it, the more it sounded better and better to him. Having someone to curl up with at the end of a stressful day? Having someone to spend most, if not all of your time with? It just appealed to him more and more as he waited on that _special someone_ to get dressed. It might have been the alcohol talking, but tying the knot with her was most likely the only option he could get to have a legitimate spouse in his life, even if she was alien to him in the literal sense of the word.

Hell, why would he say anything against it? Being in the force as he was, finding a lover amidst the fighting and training was next to impossible. Yet, as fate would have it, he did, and best of all she felt the same way. An opportunity like this only comes around once in a lifetime. At the same time, though, he felt like he was rushing it.

Also, there was that underlying difference of love between two different species. Joel felt conflicted. On one hand, Skae truly was the love of his life. One the other, if he married her and brought her home after everything was said and done, there would be so many questions. Most likely he would be openly publicized for having an anthropomorphic white wolf from a different planetary system as a spouse, and he really didn't want to be the face of media. Yet, if he stayed on Fichina or any other Lylatian planet, he would be considered a deserter; running away from his homeland just to put a ring on an alien's finger.

"I don't know what to do…" he muttered to himself, digging his hands into his pockets. Putting the relationship problems in the back of his mind, he let his eyes wander around the small storefront, and consequently out towards the main hub where hundreds were mingling and roaming around, taking in the sights of the beautiful fortress. He couldn't help but feel like he was sticking out like a sore thumb. Everyone he saw was covered in either fur or scales, and were dressed in either military ACUs, flight suits, or suits complete with a matching blazer and tie, with the occasional casually dressed couple every once in a while. All he had on was a plain dark gray t-shirt with a pair of faded denim jeans along with his baseball cap and thick framed glasses. He felt paranoid that his choice of attire would compromise his position.

He glanced at the changing rooms just in time to see Skae exit her stall, wearing nothing but a very gorgeous one-piece gold dress that shimmered in the artificial light. The dress fit her slender, hourglass frame perfectly as the pleaded extension stemming from her waistline fluidly flowed down to her ankles, where a matching set of golden heels adorned her hind paws. With no shoulder straps, the dress was forced to hug her bust, yet did a great job at exposing her midriff as it cascaded down to her waist. At that, there was a golden ribbon with a metallic finish tied in a bow on the left side of her waist, which started the long, silky extension that was cut to show the insides of her legs but cover the outsides. The graceful, flowing motion the dress took on complimented Skae in ways that ordinary words could not describe.

Joel froze at her sight, literally drooling as she flipped her cherry red hair into place. She saw his dumbstruck expression and let out a lighthearted giggle, fluttering Joel's heart even further. He looked damn adorable in his trance-like state. She honestly didn't want to do anything to break him out of it. Joel's eyes starting examining the she-wolf from head to toe, and was becoming so attracted to her that he was completely oblivious to the fact that he was growing stiff staring.

"You like it?" Skae asked with a wide smile, twisting her hips as a model showing off a dress would.

Joel made an incoherent grunt filled with affirmation and overall arousal, causing Skae to giggle again and wag her tail happily. She took a few steps forward, getting out of the cramped area to allow her dress to breathe, consequently making the pleaded extension wave and shake against her legs.

"Is this too indecent?" she asked pitifully, looking down at her legs. "I've never really showed off this much fur before."

"It's perfect," Joel finally said, gingerly feeling the material. "It suits you."

"You think so?"

He nodded. "I love it. It's a beautiful dress for a beautiful young lady."

"Please," she scoffed playfully, giggling all the while. "I'm far from a lady if you ask me. But I've always wanted to feel how a dress feels, and I have to say I really love this. I never realized how well a dress makes the wearer look and feel so much better."

"I'll say," Joel said, embracing the flirtatious attitude that was brewing within him. "It's beautiful, just like you."

Skae purred and started blushing, not like you could have seen it underneath her cherry red fur dye. "Thanks. I'm glad you like it."

"So, this what you're getting?"

"Yep," she smiled. "I'm gonna change out of it, then use that voucher."

"Wait," Joel blurted out, grabbing Skae's writs before she could walk away. She turned back to him and lifted an eyebrow, prompting him to continue, "Just one more moment."

"Why?"

"You just look so damn cute with that on," the lieutenant replied, meriting another adorable giggle from Skae.

"You'll see this more tomorrow," she assured, planting a kiss on his cheek before backing away into the changing room. Joel grinned as he watched the seductive movements of the lupine's hips and tail disappear into the changing room, and as soon as they did he sighed and leaned up against the wall again.

 _It's settled. She's mine._

 **\/~~◊~~\/**

After the duo paid for Skae's dress and left the store, Joel reminded Skae that it was starting to get late. Some of the stores were beginning to close their doors for the day, and the crowd bustling around the main lobby began to fizzle out. Skae agreed, and after grabbing a quick bite to eat in their room at a little market that was just beginning to close up, they set their sights for the elevators to get to the living quarters.

After struggling to find a map of the interior to find the elevators, they finally found themselves alone in a small elevator that would take them to the fifth floor, designated by the first number of their room key. While they waited, Joel made a move and wrapped his arm over her shoulders, which looked a bit funny with their height difference and all. Skae in turn wrapped her arm around his waist, closing the distance between them almost completely.

"Today was really fun," Skae sighed, resting her head on his.

"It was," Joel agreed. "But, remember, we still need to find Spencer, or our position is compromised."

"Ya know," she started, peeling away from him to reestablish eye contact. "Maybe that's not a bad idea."

"What, give away our position?" Joel questioned, disbelieving the lupine would even say that. "What do you mean?"

"You do realize we're never gonna win this war, right?"

"Well…" he started but trailed off. "We could."

"I don't think we will," Skae admitted, folding her ears back as the elevator door opened. "We're outnumbered, and this cover we have is gonna get blown sooner or later."

"Well, we can't just give up," Joel reminded, stepping out into the hallway lined with numerous doors on either side.

"We're gonna end up getting killed if we keep this up," Skae stated, her voice starting to shake and falter. "Joel, I hate to say this, but I really don't want to fight anymore."

"What?" Joel said in surprise, making sure to keep his voice down.

"It's not worth it," she continued. "We're never gonna win this fight. I'm sorry, but I just can't do this anymore."

Joel sighed, stopping as he approached his door. He held out his key, but instead of unlocking to door, he stared back at the she-wolf. At that moment he could see the genuine concern and worry she was expression. She was downright petrified of continuing the fight, and in all honesty he couldn't blame her. With all of the hell they endured so far… he started to agree with her. They had too much to give up in fighting a pointless battle.

Joel let his head hang slightly. "So… do you just want to stay here?"

"We can't, or else your father will destroy the station," she answered.

"No, not here," Joel explained, setting a hand on her shoulder. "I mean, not go back to Fichina. Seek asylum somewhere else."

"But where would we go?" Skae started to let a few tears form.

"I don't know," he replied. "Even if we denounce our position and give intel to Veria or whatever, we're still criminals."

"Joel, you wouldn't give your team up like that, would you?" Skae questioned, eyes wide in shock.

"I don't have a choice," Joel grunted, slipping the key card into the receiver to unlock their door. He waited for Skae to step inside as well before shutting the door, and as soon as he did so he grabbed Skae's arms and held her in place, staring directly into her eyes.

"Joel…" the she-wolf whispered. "You can't give your team away. Your father is there."

"My father agreed to destroy this station if we were unsuccessful within a certain amount of time," Joel replied, beginning to get angry at the sound of it. "If he loved me he would do anything in his power to prevent that. As far as I'm concerned, I'm just an expendable soldier in a mindless war."

He flipped the light on, revealing a standard hotel room with a large, king size bed, a dresser, a television, and a designated area for the bathroom next to the door—all in the same Verian style the rest of Antigone was built in. He then trudged up to the bed and sat down, letting his head hang once more.

"Now I know what everybody was feeling during that First Contact war," he muttered. "Expendable. That's all we are."

"Joel," Skae squeaked again, sitting on the bed next to him and resting a paw on his back.

"I need to tell you something," he suddenly blurted out, lifting his head up to face her. "I totally agree with what you're saying, but right now, that isn't important. What is important is… well… you. I don't want to fight either because I'm afraid of losing you."

Skae's muzzle slowly opened in an awe-struck expression.

"We'll be okay," Joel assured. "We'll get through this… together."

"Do I matter that much to you?" Skae asked softly.

"You matter more than I can truthfully say," Joel replied. "Skae, I'm willing to denounce my entire country I swore allegiance to… just to stay by your side. If that isn't true love, I don't know what is."

The she-wolf let a grin surface as a small tear welled up in her eye. "What did I do to deserve someone like you?"

"I could ask the same thing," Joel remarked, holding out his arms to her. In response, Skae bypassed the hug and went straight for his lips, locking each other into a comforting kiss. Joel was caught off guard at first, but after recovering from the sudden shock, he melted into the kiss and tightly wrapped his arms around her, inadvertently deepening their kiss. They both hungrily attacked their corresponding lover's lips with such ferocious affection that they eventually became lost in their love.

Joel managed to break out of the kiss, panting for breath. Smiling, he managed to breath, "Wow."

"You kiss really well for someone without a muzzle," Skae giggled, poking his nose with a clawed digit. Joel laughed and gently grabbed her muzzle, playfully shaking it around. The duo laughed, pushed each other around the bed, and had another passionate session of affection, but eventually the lieutenant stood up and approached his suitcase that had been put there by the staff.

"I'm gonna go take a quick shower," he announced, grabbing a set of clothes from his suitcase. Skae nodded in approval, prompting Joel to disappear inside of the bathroom.

As soon as she heard the water start gushing from the showerhead, she smugly smirked to herself and trotted over to the front door. She opened it, peered around the heavy door and looked down both ends of the hallway, and seeing that there was nobody watching, she slyly slid the "do not disturb" sign over the door handle before closing the door up again.

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

 **Reso — "War Machine" [YouTube – UKF D &B]**

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Awkwardly traversing the main hub of Antigone, Cynthia Brynt-Darkon kept her eyes peeled and her senses concentrated as she searched for the owner of the _Renown_. He was here. Jona was on board, and she had to find him, for her sake.

She stayed low, disguising herself by abandoning her Darkoni attire on the way to the orbital ship, replacing it with a common Verian ACU. She blended in with the population exceptionally well, which was definitely a good thing in her eyes. The last thing she wanted was to get caught by one of the Antigone guards and end up arrested, tried, and potentially executed for her long list of crimes under the Darkoni rule.

There was no denying that the VGC would detain her for good if she were caught by anyone but Jona. She needed to find him, per Aeon's request. He was right after all… Jona was her best bet of staying alive. Jona wouldn't dare turn her away, especially when expecting a child soon. Yet, how would he respond? The uncertainty of his reaction to seeing her definitely started to eat away at what little sanity she still had.

His aura was getting closer. She could practically feel Jona in her arms with how concentrated her senses were. He was so close, yet so far away, and there wasn't an easy way to get to him. How she just wanted the hell to end, yet couldn't get there fast enough to get the weight off of her shoulders. Damn, she felt like breaking down right here and now, in the middle of the bustling crowds, but that would only make her situation worse.

By some divine luck, her internal pleas were answered. Over in the distance, practically on the other side of the small terminal area, sat her savior. He and two other furred soldiers were perched in the corner of a small fast food joint, scanning the area, apparently looking for someone. _Her_?

She picked up her pace, not wanting to shout to draw the attention of the wrong Guardian. Unfortunately, her luck did a complete flip as a huge mountain of a dragon intercepted her, throwing her to the ground with a heavy shove. Dazed, she looked up… and froze.

 _Brute_.

"Think you can get away from me?" the Verian growled, a raging fire burning in his irises. Not allowing Cynthia to retort, Brute chuckled and shook his head at her. "Pathetic. That's what you are. A pathetic traitor. I hate traitors. You know what I do to traitors?"

Cynthia caught on to his intentions, and before he could unsheathe his massive hammer she rolled sideways, springing to her feet and backing away as far as the surrounding crowd would let her. Brute wouldn't be deterred that easily, and in fact, he quickly went after her, poised to strike.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw him wind up to take her head off, so she screamed and fell to the ground. Instead of hearing her bones crunch into dust, she heard a resounding "oof", followed by the ground shaking as if something heavy impacted it. Shaking uncontrollably, she tentatively looked up out of her protective bubble to see Jona, staring down Brute with his shield drawn and charged. Before she could scramble to her feet, Wolf and Quina snatched her up and dragged her away from harm's way.

"Cynthia?" Wolf questioned, to which the dragoness nodded with overwhelming fear. "Name's Wolf O'Donnell. Don't worry, we're here to help."

"Jona," she gasped, turning to face the standoff that had brewed in the middle of the terminal. Wolf kept her from running off by grabbing her upper arms gently, providing that soothing touch to assure that she would be okay. While Wolf held her back, Quina gave her a reassuring pat before squeezing her way through the crowd to see her man square off.

Brute dusted off his suit and chuckled. "Jona Falx," he called out slowly, grinning in self-satisfaction. "I had a feeling I'd see you again."

"Brute Curnow," Jona said right back, refusing to break eye contact. "I was hoping I'd _never_ have to see you again."

"Believe me, I feel the same way," Brute growled, charging up his hammer with an audible whirr.

"Traitor," Jona spat, his shield beginning to vibrate in his grasp as the electricity coursing through it finally hit its peak.

"Believe me," Brute started, slowly inching forward. "I should've killed you when I had the chance."

"You know what they say about that?" Jona questioned rhetorically, unsheathing his long broadsword. "When you have the chance to kill someone, don't hesitate."

"Thanks for the tip," Brute remarked sarcastically, taking that as the initiative to charge. Jona buckled down and held his shield in position as Brute literally brought the hammer down on top of it, discharging a huge blast of electricity that scattered amongst the crowd. A bright flash accompanied the electrical shock wave, blinding the surrounding audience and casting most of them to the ground with the sheer energy forcefully discharged from the collision. A sound akin to a jet engine whining in activation filled the terminal as both dragons fought to keep their hold.

Without warning, Jona felt the force on his shield amplify so suddenly that he was caught off-guard—the shock wave hitting him and forcing him back a good twenty feet. He stood on his feet the entire time, but as soon as he recovered and looked up, he saw Brute lunging at him, swinging his hammer down in an attempt to make him part of the floor. Impulsively, he held his shield up to potentially absorb the attack, only to be greeted with a rude awakening as sheer pain coursed through his arm his Guardian shield was strapped to.

By a sadistic twist of fate, Brute successfully put enough force on Jona's shield to tear it straight off of his arm with one brutal swing. As Jona dug his feet into the ground with the force of the impact sending him back even farther than before, he heard the sound of his Guardian armor set clattering to the ground. The entire arm section of his armor, plus a relatively large chunk of his shoulder and torso plates, were nothing more but crumpled, electrified pieces of metal littering the ground beside him. His shield landed on the other side of their improvised ring, horridly dented and bent, but still in one piece.

Brute let out a loud laugh and swung his hammer above his head as a taunt. "Even now, you're still not as powerful as I am."

Taking heavy breaths, Jona looked up at Brute and glared daggers at him, feeling his anger start to rise to uncomfortable levels. Again, he felt that distorting power eat away at him as his eyes seemed to possess a fire filed with hatred, causing him to contract his snout and bare his teeth at his opponent.

"You don't scare me," Brute said confidently, gripping both of his hulking hands around the shaft of his hammer, causing it to start charging up again. "What're you gonna do, Guardian? Face it, you can't win this fight."

"I don't care about winning a fight," Jona grunted, slowly pulling himself to his feet. "I just want you to lose it."

Again, Brute let out a taunting laugh. "You make just about as much sense as your old man. Drop the psychological bullshit and fight me! I promise I won't go easy on you."

Jona pulled his Guardian helmet off and casted it aside, prompting the rest of his heavy outer armor to fall in a pile around his feet. Wearing nothing but a resistant exoskeleton of his former suit, held together by lightweight composite material that resembled the think, outer shell of his full suit, Jona assumed his fighting stance and balled his hands near his chest.

"At least my old man has a tactic you lack," Jona remarked, immediately storming the other Verian with incredible speed. Brute tried to swing his electrified hammer down as hard as he could, only to come up empty as Jona nimbly dodged the heavy swing. The ground below him quaked and electrified with the sheer force of the hammer impacting the thick, resilient flooring, causing a shock wave that reverberated the surrounding area. Utilizing his speed and agility, Jona avoided the subsequent shock wave and landed a staggering blow to Brute, who seemingly shrugged it off like it was no big deal. However, Jona was far from done, proceeding to launch an onslaught of powerful jabs, hooks, and kicks that made Brute stagger backwards more and more. Eventually, Jona got the better of him, launching a nasty enziguri kick that nailed Brute right in the side of his skull—the sickening crack of the blow echoing amidst the screaming crowd. While he was dazed, Jona chopped his hammer out of his hand, then followed it up with a powerful uppercut right underneath his jawline to send the hostile dragon careening backwards.

Brute, after shaking the stars from his head, stood up and stared down Jona with a glare that could paralyze a normal person in sheer fear. He followed that nasty glare with a resounding snarl, then proceeded to blindly charge at Jona. Taking the blind rage to his advantage, Falx effortlessly deflected the swings that could dent a concrete building as if he knew where the next swing would originate long before Brute even thought of it. Yet, he didn't fight back. He channeled Brute's primal state and caused him to get even angrier, therefore allowing him to become much more vulnerable to—

 ** _CRACK_**

As fast as a blur, Jona deflected both of Brute's arms downward, and before he had a chance to recover from the deflection, a hard knee was forced into his snout, followed by the loud crack of yet another acrobatic enziguri kick connecting with his hard skull. This time, Brute couldn't stay on his feet after the stunning kick to the side of his head as he tumbled to the ground in one less-than-graceful motion. Adding to his stunning acrobatics, Jona flipped over Brute and slid to a stop next to his shield, consequently next to Quina as well.

"Quina, back up," Jona panted, grabbing his shield by the handles. "Stay out of the way."

"I'm helping you," she stated, refusing to budge. "I'm helping you keep concentrated and heightening your focus."

"Please, stay out of the way," Jona pleaded. "This could get really dangerous."

"I'm not leaving," Quina adamantly responded.

"I thought you said to not hesitate when you're going to kill someone," Brute remarked with a sneer, lifting himself up again. "You had me dead to rights. Now you're gonna regret that, hatchling!"

Jona raised his shield up and twisted his legs around to prepare for the inevitable train that was setting its course for bowling him over, but was surprised when he felt his shield get yanked forwards. That momentary stumble allowed Brute to use his barbaric strength to hurtle Jona over his shoulder, slamming his spine against the ground, then followed it with a harsh kick to his ribs that sent him rolling away. Coughing, Jona staggered to his feet, then froze when he saw Brute staring directly at Quina.

Petrified, Quina took a few pitiful steps backwards, to which Brute mimicked to follow her. Jona could see the fear coursing through her frame, but as much as he wanted to swoop in, he wouldn't be fast enough to save her if Brute got any ideas. All he could do was stay there and reassure Quina with his mind, which subtly calmed her down; knowing that Jona still had her back.

"Foolish vixen," Brute growled, glaring at the Cerinian. "How can you fall for a demon like him?"

"He is not!" Quina yipped back, baring her teeth in an intimidation attempt. Key word, _attempt_.

"You don't know the half of it," snapped Brute. "Falx is a demon. He lets it consume him." He turned to Jona and returned that same nasty snarl. "I will not be intimidated by a demon and his bitch! You will meet your demise, and I'll send you back to the fiery depths from whence you came!"

Brute suddenly pulled a compact rifle out of his armor, instantly opening fire at Jona, who just absorbed the gunfire with his shield. Sparks flew, and some shots deflected off of the resistant material and imbedded themselves in nearby objects, but Jona stayed strong, keeping his stance in front of the dragon so that he wouldn't get hit in his vulnerable state of limited armor.

As soon as Brute's rifle stopped and began to cool down, it was suddenly chopped out of his hands by a golden flash. He quickly spun around, only to be greeted by a flash of fire that singed his face. Completely disoriented, Quina expertly twirled the golden staff hidden away in her attire with an awe-inspiring flare, and finished off her moves with a jumping downward strike with the tip of the staff glowing a pale blue, throwing Brute backwards as if yet another shock wave hit him. To his dismay, he slid right into Jona, who flattened the dazed dragon with a huge bash from his battered shield.

"Wow," Jona couldn't help but utter, seeing Quina twirl her staff until collapsing it to half of its initial length. "Where did you learn to do that?"

Quina was about to respond, but all that came out was a gasp when Jona had his legs taken out from underneath him. Brute then grabbed the spine of Jona's light armor and hurled him backwards, slamming into the nearby wall and falling flat. Irate, Brute grabbed his hammer and charged, not at Jona, but a defenseless Quina. She narrowly avoided a downward slam by nimbly flipping backwards, then vaulted over him by using her staff for leverage. Right when the Cerinian thought she cleared the hulking dragon, Brute spun backwards and clipped her staff with his arm, making her lose her balance and unceremoniously fall flat on the floor. She cried out in pain as her staff clattered to the ground, which made Brute laugh in satisfaction.

He looked over at Jona, who took a lot of effort to bring himself to his hands and knees, and sneered at him. "It's over, Falx! Stand down, or she's as dead as you're gonna be!"

Jona locked eyes with Quina and saw her pain and fear, even with the distance they had. Just seeing her in her state of suffering and anguish brought that fire back up again. He tried to take heavy breaths to calm his brewing rage, but it wasn't helping. Once more, his anger was starting to distort his frame, and Quina saw it. Yet, she did nothing to try to quench it. In fact, she stared back at Jona, gave him a sly smirk, and nodded her head—her voice suddenly filling his head.

 **'Finish him.'**

Jona nodded back, closed his eyes, and let his head hang. That dark, distorted air around him suddenly and noticeably plumed as if an explosion went off. As soon as Jona lifted his head and opened his eyes, staring down Brute with a look that could curdle blood, the eerie smoke faded into nothing.

And then another dragon entered the battle. Completely black, as if it was a shadow taking on physical form. That dragon too opened his eyes and stared Brute down, piercing right through his confidence with a pair of deep, sapphire blue eyes. Brute knew what it was all too well.

"Demon Prince," he growled under his breath. Before he could prepare for another attack, the shadow charged like a blur; there one second, and launching punches the next. It hit him with the intensity of a normal punch amplified ten-fold, so quick and so powerful that he had no chance of defending against it. Brute tried to put his arm up to block, but as soon as he moved his arms that shadow was quick to pounce on the next vulnerable area.

Brute eventually got fed up and tried to throw a nasty hook, only for the shadow to grab his arm. Brute froze as his eyes locked up with the two glowing orbs the shadow possessed. Without warning, the shadow harshly bent his arm—a resounding snap sounding off as a result. Before Brute could even cry out in pain, the "demon" swung him up as if he was a ragdoll, perfectly landing directly into a hard shield smash from Jona. Brute couldn't even hit the ground after slamming into Jona's electrified shield bash, as the shadow was right there to deliver a staggering uppercut that shattered the Verian's jaw. Jona slammed into him again with his shield, knocking the now unconscious Brute into the shadow once more, to which it caught the dragon in the side of his snout with a wicked right hook, instantly snapping his neck with the sheer force and power of the blow. The shadow kicked the now lifeless dragon down, blood spurting from Brute's mouth like a leaky pipe as he laid on the floor in a broken heap.

The entire crowd, stunned at the events that just unfolded, watched as the shadow slowly backed away from Brute's bleeding, broken, and twisted corpse with an emotionless, blank stare. Jona locked eyes with the dark, shadowy figure—his blood red eyes meeting its deep, piercing blue eyes. At that moment, time seemed to stand still, his surroundings meant nothing to him, and all he could feel was the rage within him beginning to quench itself. Yet, the shadow refused to move, as did he. Jona just stood there in stunned silence, taking in the sight of the damn near identical shadow staring back at him as if he were looking into some sort of distorted mirror.

When he looked into those eyes, he saw a polar opposite of himself. Yet, he couldn't shake the fact that the shadow was becoming him, and he was becoming that shadow. Where he felt as if he had his morals and consistently expressed them day in and day out, the shadow had a sadistic aura of care-free ruthlessness that seemed to only come out in times of anger. His anger caused that shadow to appear. It did before, and it did again now.

Yet, he couldn't break that stare. In fact, he did just about the opposite.

He gazed into those piercing blue eyes…

And smiled.

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

 _Eyes huge, so little left if something  
Cracks and clues, he's crazy as a straw  
Why denied, does no one care or nothing?  
How, you ask, I ever last so long  
Cause I, I went blind  
A blinding riot  
He's regretting every word  
Those empty lies, one more tonight  
A blinding riot  
As I summon every nerve_

 _Just need a bit of luck, get 'em up  
Point the gun at the eyes  
Or at the knees, had to shoot, had to fight  
Gonna take out the gunman  
Bit of luck, get 'em up  
Made to run for our lives  
Take out the knees, had to choose, had to fight  
Gonna take out the gunman_

 _*Chevelle – Take Out the Gunman*_


	19. My Angel in the Dark

_I know the pieces fit  
'Cause I watched them fall away  
Mildewed and smoldering  
Fundamental differing  
Pure intention juxtaposed  
Will set two lovers' souls in motion  
Disintegrating as it goes  
Testing our communication  
The light that fueled our fire then  
Has a burned a hole between us so  
We cannot see to reach an end  
Crippling our communication_

 _I know the pieces fit  
'Cause I watched them tumble down  
No fault, none to blame  
It doesn't mean I don't desire to  
Point the finger, blame the other  
Watch the temple topple over  
To bring the pieces back together  
Rediscover communication_

 _*Tool – Schism*_

* * *

 **Chapter 19: My Angel in the Dark**

* * *

"I can't believe things have escalated like this… the Terrans are getting there way…" Izalia whispered to herself as she and the arctic fox Vince walked into her office.

"There must be something we can do," Vince breathed, a small step behind her.

Izalia's snout took on an expression of determination. "There is…"

Inside, her office was comprised of a simple desk, a few bookshelves, and a few reading chairs about the room, but the only thing that was off was the silver ring in the middle of the room. Elegantly crafted, with an intricate design lining it that looked like a blossoming olive branch, swaying and circling around with precision adorned the borderline subterranean ring.

"I said on the way here I would be providing you with new equipment for your task," the dragoness blurted out, stepping right by the ring, much to Vince's discontent.

"I remember," Vince nodded, sheepishly smiling afterward. "I was kinda wondering when I would be getting it."

Izalia smiled back and stepped over to a small table. Atop it laid a pair of glasses and a brand new transmitter, yet the screen of it was as long as his entire forearm, similar in design to what Izalia herself wore despite it being so large. "These are yours; each part specially crafted for you."

He picked the glasses, inspecting them carefully in his paws before placing them over his eyes — only for his world to clear up. "Whoa…"

"Your prescription," she chuckled. "Oh, and they hold a special surprise when you use them with your transmitter."

Vince removed his old transmitter, then picked up the aforementioned piece of hardware, pulling the composite and glass gauntlet on his left arm. "This is… big…" he grunted, seemingly struggling it slip it on his arm. "But sleek…" he added, using his open paw to run his fingers down the length of the device. He activated it, and to his surprise it started loading up faster than he himself could process. He didn't even have time to recover before holographic information danced across his lenses. "Wow, this is so fast! I can actually reference my data without looking at my hand."

"SRI-124 Transmitter, more like an ultra-compact personal computer system," Izalia told him. "That transmitter has a terabyte of memory stored in a micro solid state drive, as well as a three micro-processors that have five times the speed and power of anything Corneria has, or can _hope_ to have."

As Vince played around with his new toy, she smiled and continued, "It also has an independent inferno system so you can carry your research anywhere and not have to worry about getting _hacked_."

He caught the inflection on hacked and blushed a little bit, bashfully hiding his eyes from the dragoness.

"Your new equipment is only part of the reason I brought you here," the queen announced, stepping closer towards the ring in the center of the room.

"Then what is the other reason?" the vulpine asked, turning to the dragoness.

"Halrand has their swords; Monmaro has their money; Kislick has their anvils… and Salfar has their knowledge… and knowledge is power," she rattled off as if it were a mantra. "Xiphos has his sword, my daughter and her husband have their speed and guile… and my grandson has his shield… my weapon is my sight."

She finally took that one step into the ring, and it instantly started to glow a bright blue. "Level five Administrator access. Name: Salfar, Izalia. Code: Harken Seth Kesslar Aldrin. Initiate system."

At her words, the ring glowed brighter, as additional rings started to light up around her, five in total, only these weren't simple — the patterns were electronic. The rings were super computers. There was a server farm built into the floor. After about a minute, the system was fully online, filling the entire room with holographic images of planets and systems that she apparently put her heart and soul into researching.

"Consistently Operating Spatial Monitoring Observation System…. Or COSMOS. This would be my weapon. This is how I would fight."

Vince looked around the room in awe, gapping muzzle in all. "How… is this possible? A system like this this would have taken years… _decades_ to set up."

"You seem to have forgotten how old I actually am," Izalia commented with somewhat of a proud, yet knowing smile. "Fifty years and over fifty million hard-earned Prines of my own money set this up. Money I made with my research over the years. I normally use this system to study star systems and their inhabitants. It was what I did in my spare time. Being immortal does that to you."

She suddenly shifted and looked at the holographic system. "Or at least I did, until six years ago…"

"When the uprising destroyed your communications arrays," Vince concluded.

Izalia nodded in affirmation, her eyes dancing from planet to planet displayed all over the room. "After the arrays were repaired, this system has been as a silent sentry; ever watchful, and ever so powerful… It watched as your people left Terras in its disarrayed state. It watched Terras rise to the power they have now. It even watched Terran teams file into the Lylat System by the ship-full. We tried to warn them… and Muzzin ignored our warnings."

"You have definitive evidence, though," the little arctic fox pointed out. "Can't you show the LHC your files? Show them that there are humans in the system?"

Izalia remorsefully shook her head. "I'm sorry, Vince; that's not a possibility. The Cornerians have us locked out of the system, and they won't listen to us unless we speak with them in-person. We want to keep Corneria on somewhat friendly terms with us so that they don't become so aggressive as to attack an unsuspecting colony, creating another Fichina incident."

"Then we need to invade Fichina and drive the humans out ourselves," Vince concluded.

"That's just as, if not worse than just stepping foot in the Lylat System," the dragoness responded, stepping through the sea of holographic planets. "Muzzin will stop at nothing to eliminate Verian presence from his territory under his title as head of the LHC. He might be in a hospital bed, but he's still dangerous when provoked. That being said, if we send a team of Guardians down on Fichina to drive out the Terran uprising, Muzzin will send everything he has until that team is dead. We try to preserve life in these situations of soldiers forced into combat like the ones enlisted in the CDF, but we can only support so many prisoners of war. We're stuck in a bad spot, and all we can do is wait."

"Wait until Muzzin finds the humans on Fichina?"

"No," Izalia stated. "Muzzin wants us out of the picture, so he'll do everything himself. If he finds the Terrans, he'll go after them himself. He'll lose more life doing so, and the sooner he figures that out, the sooner this conflict will end. As much Xiphos and I want to intervene and bring this conflict to an early end, it would just cause more problems, frustrations, and lost life if we did so."

Izalia sighed once more, glancing out of her window. "COSMOS has kept a close eye on all of the affairs. It has let us know that Muzzin is authorizing a mandatory draft, and is planning an assault on Veris as we speak. Xiphos and Talen have already authorized the formation of our Seventeenth Defense Fleet, or The Wall, if you would like to call it that. We will try to minimize casualties where we can, but I'm afraid that we won't save as many as we should."

Vince's ears drooped. "Muzzin is ordering a suicide mission."

A tear formed in Izalia's eye, a sensation that she hadn't felt in quite a long time. "It hurts. It hurts to have so much knowledge, and have the upper hand to potentially save this conflict from breaking out into a bloodbath, then only being able to sit and watch it happen. We have the knowledge here to stop millions from going to an early grave, yet there's nothing we can do. We'd only make it worse if we intervened. I feel like I need to do more, but I just don't know what else I _can_ do."

The dragoness folded her hands after a momentary pause. "COSMOS will continue to keep watch, even in this time of adversity. It is a security system of sorts; we can monitor every inch of this system and the surrounding systems, constantly keeping an eye on the scene. We will always know what is happening out there."

"This explains why you don't have an intelligence agency of any kind," Vince quietly remarked. "You see everything as is. You see nothing but what is true… …But a system this powerful must have its drawbacks, no?"

The dragoness nodded. "It's essentially a massive network of communication satellites and observation drones, each one undetectable and protected against outside influence or tampering. The system is so expansive, its operation is costly, and it uses copious amounts of energy, so I mainly use it to study other intelligent beings. I catalog their existence — their movements and lives… I've even hacked into computer networks to see how they interact, how they behave, and who some of the people are. It is a very interesting pass-time, Mr. Stazac."

"That's almost akin to… stalking," Vince joked, shrugging his shoulders.

"No more so than watching a wild animal in its natural habitat," she reasoned.

"Given your position and curiosity… that's actually an acceptable response," Vince cracked a chuckle.

Izalia laughed along until her eyes became fixated on the system projected once more. "I'm just sad that I'm having to use my biggest research tool as a weapon of war," the queen sighed. "I don't want my prized possession to be degraded into a tactical weapon."

"Maybe we don't have to use it as a weapon against your enemies. Maybe just as a shield to protect the innocent?" Vince suggested.

Izalia hummed, her head nodding gently. "Perhaps. We could develop a tactic that works with that, while keeping with our peaceful mantra and disposition. It's a good way to reduce conflict and casualties without being hostile. I like the way you think, Mr. Stazac. And it seems you have an affinity for the COSMOS system. Can I entrust you with its safekeeping when I am away?"

"Goodness yes," Vince blurted out, his tail beginning to spastically flick around in excitement. "I'd love to use it."

"Excellent," the dragoness remarked happily. "I'll leave you to get acquainted with the system and how it's structured. Your transmitter should sync right up with it. It shouldn't take too long to get used to the controls."

"Thank you, Queen Izalia," Vince bowed slightly. "I won't waste this opportunity."

The queen exited the room, leaving the arctic fox with his new equipment and COSMOS. Immediately, Vince fumbled around with the controls until he could successfully and efficiently navigate the holographic system. Within a few moments, he stumbled upon the Solar System, then located Earth and zoomed in on it. The quality of the holographic picture was staggering; so much so that he could see the topography of the planet without going to a surface view.

"This system is incredible," Vince muttered, using his arm touchscreen to navigate the cameras surrounding and delivering a perfect picture of the planet in question. Yet, something caught his eye that made him freeze up.

It was much too big to be a satellite, nor could it have been an interstellar vessel. It was stationary, and huge; as if it were a floating city. Vince nearly gagged. It looked like the framework to a Verian Station much like Antigone. Yet, it just screamed humanly engineering.

"This is impossible," Vince whispered in disbelief. "There's no way that the humans could have built this. Not unless—"

Vince froze, gasping. "Our ships. They stole out tech."

Wide eyed, the vulpine zoomed in on the Earthly Orbital Station "Torus", mesmerized by its incredible architecture. It bustled like any other orbital station. Pretty soon, that same station would be an important defense mechanism for the surface and its inhabitants. They were prepping for the storm.

"Earth is rising."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Todd McClellan had a lot on his mind. Too much, even. Worrying about everything from his son's wellbeing to the safety of his own homeworld, to even stressing about every single detail of his idea of attack in hopes that there would be no issues in his master plan.

In an attempt to bring back a much needed tranquility to his mind, he bundled himself up from head to toe in the most protective and insulating clothing he had, then began to stroll around the small Fichinian town. It wasn't completely cold; the clouds today were thin, allowing a bit of sunlight to poke through and attempt to heat the frozen ground. Yet, it still was a frigid negative thirty degrees Celsius, which, if you weren't careful, cold freeze you solid in a matter of minutes. The wind was another factor, dipping the feeling temperature to well below fifty. Todd still decided to walk.

His boots dug through a foot of snow as he walked along the sidewalk of the main street, implied with a massive snowbank that could have topped ten feet tall. The human general passed by boarded up shops, buried businesses, and small residential houses that were in evident disarray. Todd's heart quivered at the sight. He wasn't stupid—not in the slightest—so he knew that the state of this town directly correlated with the economic activity. They went through hell.

He knew why. The lack of supply shipments. That exile from the LHC. Excommunication. Thousands… hundreds of thousands of people left to starve and freeze to death in the unforgiving tundra. It hurt to just think of a civilization such as the Fichinians to take the risk of living on such a harsh planet, and making to most of it, only to scream pleas that came on deaf ears. Quarantined in the cold. Left to starve.

Todd walked past a group of three little wolf pups playing and wrestling in the snow; their mother watching on the front porch. They were having the time of their life out there. Those little pups had no worries… not anymore, that is. He smiled, not at their playfulness as they roughhoused in the huge snowbanks, but at the fact that they were resilient enough to survive the attempted starvation six years prior to get to this point. He admired how much fight those kids seemed to have. All of those who survived had that same fight. Todd knew they shouldn't know how to fight for their lives at such a young age. Kids should be kids.

He thought of Joel, alone on an alien station with nothing but a companion he basically just met. He felt sorry for him. He felt an odd sense of anxiety, feeling like he would have to give the order to essentially kill his own son should they not complete their objective. He wanted to stay positive, but it was getting harder and harder the more he thought about the disillusioned war.

He sighed, a cloud of fog leaving his mouth. It was all so strange. So unsettling. His fighting drive that led him all the way out here froze up, and it wasn't because of the cold. It was like he… just didn't have that desire to fight anymore. Not now. Maybe it _was_ all just blind rage… Did he believe it? Was there even a reason to risk the life of his own flesh and blood? He hated thinking about it. Well, he did now, now that he had time to think.

An hour later, now that his face was completely numb, Todd found himself back into the schoolhouse. The snow leopardess that owned the large building—Monica—sat in her classroom with a book in her paws, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings. Yet, she heard the door creek as Todd poked half of his body in.

"You're back," she smiled, looking up at him. "How was it?"

"Calming," Todd breathed. Monica closed up her book and approached the human, tail swishing in her wake.

"It's unseasonably warm this time of year," Monica relayed, slipping by him as she funneled out into the hallway, setting a course for her and her guest's room. "We're aligned with our dwarf star Solar for the first time in over a century, which allows for the increase in temperatures. Right now they're thirty degrees above normal, which you might say is rather far-fetched considering how cold it is, even with a buffer from Solar."

Todd grinned and followed her. "You know a lot about this."

"I've been following weather patterns for years," Monica explained. "I just wish this alignment would have happened six years ago. Maybe not as many people would have frozen or starved like they did."

Todd felt an icy stab at his heart. "There's just something telling me that we shouldn't even be here," he blurted out, hanging his head. "I feel like I've done something terrible."

"What do you mean?" Monica asked concernedly, stopping in the hallway to look back at him.

"We're risking too much doing this," Todd explained. "My people. Hell, my own son is in danger. I feel like if there's one more mistake, Corneria _and_ Veris will be at Earth's doorstep, and this time there won't be anything left to rebuild."

He sighed, resting his shoulder on the wall. "I know Corneria attacked out of faulty information, and it was all just a huge misunderstanding, but… I don't think avenging those who died in this manner was the best way. We're endangering our own lives to burn Corneria down…"

Monica approached him and set a paw on his shoulder, and to her surprise he didn't seem to flinch or react negatively to her touch as he did in days prior. Taking note of that, she continued in a soft voice, "A war like this does do a number on one's psychological being. I may be a school teacher for the kids, but I do have my smarts. I know exactly why you feel the way you do."

"I forgot about the safety of my team," Todd sighed. "My family. My own son. I threw them all away just to show Corneria we weren't someone to mess with. It just seems like this war is just one huge illusion, and nobody can tell what is real and what isn't."

Monica purred. "I understand. The uncertainty of not knowing the wellbeing of your own blood is a pain that I have felt as well. My daughter, who was three years old at the time, needed a constant regimen of antibiotics to stay alive, but as soon as Corneria retracted their trade routes, I had to spread them out. She was getting sicker the more I drew out her medication. Then I ran out… I didn't have anything for her."

The snow leopardess turned around and slowly started walking down the hall, staying strong and refusing to cry. "I never let go of her the day I gave her the last bit of antibiotics I had. I felt her grow colder every day. She started refusing food. There were times where she was in pain but couldn't cry. It hurt, seeing her in so much anguish, and I couldn't do anything to save her. A week later, I fell asleep with her in my arms, and when I woke up… she was gone…"

Todd's heart snapped in two, seeing the leopardess in such a state. Moving closer to her, he responded, "I lost my own daughter in the Cornerian invasion too. I was in a rough state as well. I didn't know what to do."

Monica looked up at him with a little glimmer in her eye, mainly because of an internal sliver of sympathy rather than a film of tears. "What was her name?"

"Angela," Todd answered.

Her muzzle went agape slightly. "That was my daughter's name too."

Todd couldn't help but smile. "You don't say? Heh, that's pretty ironic. Almost seems—"

"A bit _too_ coincidental," Monica finished with a sarcastic inflection, casting the both of them into laughter. "Sorry, couldn't help myself."

"Don't be; I needed that laugh," Todd said, shuffling awkwardly on his feet. Before the conversation could become awkward, Todd politely excused himself and trotted back to his guest room. Inside was just a basic room, specifically built, furnished, and maintained for an unexpected guest such as himself. He wasted no time in removing all of his heavy gear to leave him in a basic ACU, which he couldn't remember the last time he wore. Nonetheless, it still fit, which was all that mattered.

Thinking about his kid like he did reminded him on the rest of his family, or what was left of it, rather. Even though he broke specific Fichinian protocol stating that they need to stay completely under the radar, he still took the risk and requested a call on his own device all the way out to his home planet. Torus patched his call through, and in moments, he heard his wife's voice gently speak at him.

"You doing okay all the way out there, hon?" Valerie asked with a soothing, motherly inflection.

"So far, everything is going according to the new plan the Fichinian leaders and I have drawn up," Todd answered. "We're currently prepping for a stealth assault, but we have to wait until Joel comes back from a reconnaissance slash search-and-eliminate mission."

"Oh, what happened?"

"A traitor sprung up and is trying to leak our intel to the Verians. Joel and his teammate are on a Verian orbital base searching for him."

"That's good," Valerie giggled softly. "He and Erik make such a great team. They shouldn't have any problem—"

"Actually, it's not Erik with him, or any of his original teammates," Todd corrected. "A Fichinian huntress with an impressive set of skills is with him. For a Lylatian, she's pretty cute. Young little wolf girl."

"You stuck Joel with one of those animals?" Valerie shot angrily. "Are you insane?"

"They worked really well together on their first mission from what I've heard," he added, not losing his confidence in the situation just yet. "Joel doesn't seem to mind her. She and I talked before they shipped off; she's very nice and reassuring. No wonder Joel fell in love with her."

As soon as his words unconsciously left his lips, he slammed them shut, slapping a hand over his face in disbelief at what he just let loose. He prepped his ears for the verbal onslaught that was soon to follow, and sure enough…

"WHAT?!" Valerie screamed, distorting the call quality for that split-second.

Tood immediately tried to stand up for his son. "Val, he told me himself, and I could see it."

"I don't care," she seethed. "He better get rid of that animal before he comes back home."

"That's not gonna be possible, my love," Todd started, trying to keep a calm voice to reassure her. "He said it to my face that nothing was going to separate them; not even me. You should have seen his face; he looked the same way I did when I first met you."

"Don't you _dare_ try to sympathize with him," Valerie interrupted scornfully. "Friendly or not, they're still the enemy here. I don't trust her. She's just seducing him like the flea-bitten whore she is."

"Val!" Todd shouted.

"When I told you to have him bring home a tail, _I didn't mean it like this!_ " Valerie fumed. "Now get that bitch away from our son!"

"I can't," Todd admitted. "I told him I would let him do what he wanted to do. He didn't want me to get in the way of his true love."

"You seem to have forgotten that as soon as your operation out there is over and done with, you come home, and we forget about them," she growled. "All of them. We leave them behind, and let them try to rebuild after we flatten them like they did to us. That includes that filthy furry Joel supposedly _loves_."

"No," Todd said with defiance. "This is where I draw the line. If Joel can love someone like her, even after what they did to him, then maybe he can see something that we don't. Obviously there's more to us than fighting, and I think Joel found out what it is."

"Todd!" Valerie shouted in rage.

"I'm sorry, but it's over," Todd stated sternly. "If Joel can find love out here after what happened to him after the Cornerians attacked, then there really isn't any reason for us to be fighting. They attacked us on accident, but what we're doing to them is something else. Something worse. We're getting them in trouble with another power, one much stronger than ours and theirs combined, and it won't be long, after they wipe Corneria out, they'll be right at our doorstep. I think I can speak for the rest of my platoon by saying I'm not standing for another genocide, this time at our hands."

Todd let one last remark cross over the phone line before he abruptly terminated the call.

"I'm pulling back our troops. Our fight here is done."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

The excess electricity still coursed through the iron reinforced floors even after the brawl was over and done with. Sections of potent electrical charges were mapped off and quarantined as most of the general public that watched the fight unfold were driven away to continue their daily routines. A team of Guardians sealed the area and conducted an investigation of the situation, with Jona acting as the head officer, which he rightfully was. After talking to a chief officer, Jona and two other soldiers walked back over to Cynthia, who was sitting balled up against a nearby shop's wall.

"Darkon's chief advisor," one of the Guardians spoke up. "We've finally got her."

"No," Jona intervened, pushing the armored dragon away. "Leave her."

"She's dangerous," the other soldier replied.

"And so am I," Jona threatened, glaring at the two other Verians. "Leave her be. That's an order."

Begrudgingly, the two others backed away and stationed themselves away from him. Cynthia looked up at him with an evidently fearful expression and awkwardly shifted.

"Jona…" she whimpered, letting her ears fall back.

"Are you okay?" the dragon asked, suddenly becoming very concerned and attentive.

"I'm fine," she answered softly.

"Good," Jona breathed a sigh of relief. "Care to explain why you were here?"

"Aeon told me to run," Cynthia replied. "Told me to grab his files and get somewhere safe. He told me you might be here."

"He told you to find me?" Jona asked skeptically. "Why?"

"He knew you wouldn't do anything harmful to me," she answered innocently, practically on the verge of tears. "He knew that my best bet of staying safe was with you, now that the Circle is destroyed."

"You still have a long list of crimes against the Kingdom with your activity in the Circle, Cynthia," he reminded seriously. "Truthfully, anywhere you go you'll be hunted down for the same things."

"Jona, please, I can explain everything," the dragoness pleaded, procuring a small hard drive from her pocket. "Aeon's plans were only a mesh of his advisors' and generals' ideas gathered from his own father's work. Aeon was just a face in the entire operation."

"What about the attack on Cerinia?" Jona grunted. "Did Aeon's father plan to have the Terrans aid in that appalling act?"

"No, but neither did Aeon," Cynthia explained. "It was all the Circle's sadistic plan to get Terra involved into the conflict. They wanted to see everything go up in flames, and Aeon was just a scapegoat to make it seem like it was the Darkoni ambition that started the conflict. It was all just Yolan's corrupted generals and team that warped the Darkoni plan and turned it into an act of terror."

"You mean to tell me that the most wanted criminal in the entire Lylat System was just a figure posing for a team of genuine terrorists?" he questioned.

"Yes," Cynthia nodded. "And all of that information is here," she added, outstretching the drive to the dragon. He accepted it, tucked it away for safe keeping, and then outstretched his hand to her after a moment of silence and stillness.

"Sorry," was all he could say.

Cynthia pushed his hand away and curled up into her protective ball even more. "I don't deserve your pity. I'm a criminal; blind in sight and hard in heart."

"Well, you don't deserve to rot in a cell because of it," Jona responded. "I understand that what you did was wrong, and that you feel sorry for it all, but I won't allow you to just accept a fate worse than death. Especially with precious cargo."

The dark blue dragoness rubbed at her stomach. "You know."

"It doesn't matter that I know," he blurted out. "What matters is that I can't let you raise a child in hellish conditions. It's not fair for the kid. You seem to have forgotten that I have a sense of honor, and I can't accept the fact that you'll spend the rest of your life imprisoned for something you didn't willingly accept. I hate to say it, but the VGC was in the wrong this time."

Cynthia looked up at him. "Do you really mean it?"

Jona nodded and crouched down to her level. "The operation on the Circle earlier today was to eliminate those advisors and destroy the Darkoni revolution once and for all. We never looked to see if Aeon himself was guilty of their crimes. I always thought he was that master deceiver that everyone praised him to be. Cynthia, I know you loved him, and from the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry."

"You believe me?" she whimpered pitifully.

"Do you really think I'd doubt you, now of all times?" Jona let a small grin surface. "You're at the lowest of lows. You wouldn't gain anything lying to me. I'll take the blame for not believing sooner."

Cynthia's gaze traveled over Jona's shoulder to the figure standing behind him. Jona caught onto her actions and cranked his head around, seeing Wolf with an absolutely livid stare.

"He _was_ innocent," the lupine growled through clenched teeth.

"Wolf—"

"I trusted you," Wolf angrily snarled. "I believed what you said was true. Now I find out you were telling me a lie?!"

"Wolf, I didn't know either," Jona explained.

"Bullshit!" he barked, ripping his customized helmet off of his skull. "You just wanted me to feel better so that I would be okay with killing even more innocent people once this war starts to escalate!"

"Wolf," Jona started, but was once again interrupted by the seething lupine.

"You know what? I've had enough!" Wolf snapped, tossing his helmet to the ground. "You can count me out of your little operation. I'm done."

"You can't quit," Jona shot back. "You took an oath."

"I took a commitment that I would protect the ones I loved and to do what was right!" Wolf retorted. "So far I haven't done either! So you can kiss my furry little ass goodbye! I want a transport ready to take me home by tomorrow."

"I ain't gonna give you shit!" Jona growled, standing up at his full height. "If you're gonna be a traitor, then I'm not authorizing anything. Until you get in through your head that you need to be a selfless leader in order to be a Guardian, then I—"

"I NEVER WANTED TO BE A GUARDIAN!" Wolf snapped, his bone chilling howl echoing throughout the station. "I just wanted to be in a safe place with my family, and not have to worry about oppressive militaries breathing down my neck! Get it through your thick skull that that's all I ever wanted!"

Jona's eyes went wide in shock.

"Get me my fucking ride home, NOW!" the livid lupine screamed.

"Fine," the Verian scowled. "Just know that you jeopardized the entire mission with your selfish antics. I'll have your escort ready early tomorrow morning. I hope you're happy with yourself."

"I don't want to hear that _I_ fucked this all up," Wolf scoffed. "Just let me know when I can leave."

With that, Wolf turned around and exited the area, setting a course for the elevators that would take him up to his designated room. Jona and Cynthia exchanged worried and concerned glances as the lupine angrily stomped away, a wake of anger following his path.

Quina slowly approached Jona, ears tilted back in fear. "Jona… what's gonna happen now?"

"I'm going to find Spencer myself, since Wolf is too stubborn to understand," the Verian vented calmly. "His selfishness is going to endanger more lives."

"Do you think he might have a point?" Quina asked gently, laying her paws on his arm.

"The only point he's making is he's being too soft," Jona answered. "The sooner he toughens up and stops whining about not being with his wife for two days, the better off we'll all be. He can't go a day without seeing Sheila. He's too attached. Maybe even obsessive. I'm afraid that attachment is going to cause more problems, not with us, but with her."

Quina too felt that wave of hatred stemming from the lupine's mind hit her. She immediately donned a concerned expression and tucked farther into her man's grasp.

"I hate to say it, but he's gonna have to find out his faults first-hand," Jona breathed, flattening his ears. "If what I think he's about to do is true, then he's gonna come crawling back to me."

"What's he doing?" the vixen inquired.

Jona sighed, shaking his head.

"Fueling the fire."

 **\/~~◊~~\/**

As soon as the door shut behind the lupine's tail, he immediately started stripping of his heavy gear until he was in nothing but his undershirt and shorts. He haphazardly stuffed the stripped gear into a corner of the room, then instantly turned on the air conditioning so that his room would start flowing with cold air. While he waited for the systems to kick on, he flopped backwards onto his bed, soaking in the divine comfort of his sheets and finally letting a relaxed breath of air through his nose.

A few moments later, the stench of his underclothes started getting picked up by the blowing air. Groaning in disgust, Wolf stood up and peeled the rest of his clothes off until he was standing in nothing but his fur, then walked over to the bathroom and tossed them inside to ferment. Before shutting the door, he swiped a towel from the rack and started drying off the nasty sweat accumulated on his thick pelt of fur.

 _You'd think they'd make those suits breathe_ , Wolf bitterly thought to himself. As soon as he was dry, he casted the towel aside and threw himself back on the bed, not bothering to put on another change of clothes. The cool air coursing through his small room ruffled every little strand of fur from his muzzle down to his feet, soothing his muscles and calming his nerves. It had been quite a long time since he was alone and able to bask in nothing but his fur, but instead of enjoying it, he let the soothing sensation simmer his frustration.

Eventually, Wolf activated his transmitter and scrolled through his contacts, coming across his wife and mate after a few seconds of searching. Not wasting any more time, he tapped her face, attempting to patch a call through to her. To his relief and elation, Sheila's hologram popped up from his wrist, smiling as soon as her pixelated body appeared.

"Wolfie!" Sheila exclaimed happily, hugging her arms to her bosom. "You're okay! I was so worried!"

Wolf nodded knowingly. "I'm so sorry, She. I wanted to call, but—"

"Jona told me everything," the husky interjected, seemingly sensing that Wolf was about to go off on a tangent. "I understand what's going on. I'm just glad you're okay."

The lupine shook his head, letting his arm fall limply against his chest, while still keeping Sheila in his viewpoint. "Honestly, my love, I'm far from okay."

"What's wrong?" Sheila asked concernedly, her voice taking on that motherly aura that Wolf absolutely adored. Her tone in and of itself usually calmed Wolf in tense situations, but this time was an exception.

"I miss you," he said pitifully, folding his ears against his head. "I hate being away from you for this long."

"You've only been gone for less than two days, Wolf," Sheila giggled softly, twirling her hair with her finger on camera. "Surely you can't miss me that much?"

Wolf suddenly became confused at her remark. "Do you really think I can just forget about you right now?" he inquired, a microscopic hint of skepticism tainting his tongue. "We're planning a family; do you think I can shove that aside?"

"Wolf," the husky interrupted with a divine voice. "I don't expect you to shove that aside, but I don't want you worrying about us when you're in the middle of a serious mission. I've got company. I'll be fine."

"I dropped the mission," Wolf blurted out.

"What?" the husky yipped, completely shocked.

"I'm done being a Guardian," the lupine admitted.

"Wolf, why would you do that?"

Wolf let a sheepish smile surface. "So I could spend more time with you. So I don't have to be away from you longer than I have to."

Sheila slowly started becoming rather frightened and tentative towards the lupine. "W-why though?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Wolf subtly growled. "Sheila, I can't take not being around you. Being way out here, not knowing how you or our pup is doing is driving me nuts. I… I worry too much when I'm away."

"You don't need to worry," the light cinnamon husky attempted to explain. "Krystal is keeping me company."

"It should be me," he commented sourly.

"Wolf, you have a job to do," Sheila said, her voice suddenly flipping to sheer seriousness. "If you don't, we and our pup won't have a calm world to live in. Don't you want to see our pup safe?"

"Of course, but—"

"No, there are no buts," Sheila interrupted. "I'm serious. You really need to get back onto the job and complete it like I know you can. It's for the best of us."

"So you're telling me to sacrifice myself?" Wolf snapped.

"No; not once did I say that," Sheila said with a high, vulnerable pitch. "I'm saying that you're strong, and you'll succeed in your mission if you stay concentrated on it. Once that's over and done with, you can come back home. I promise I can wait until then."

"You don't understand!" Wolf shouted, startling the holographic husky. "Sheila, it's not that I'm not strong enough to complete this. I can't do this because I can't be sure of anything. My target, I found out, was an innocent man just framed by his advisors. She, I… I can't tell who's hostile and who isn't. It's driving me insane."

Sheila purred softly. "I understand. You just need to focus, okay? Can you do that for me? For us?"

"I need you…" Wolf whimpered. "I can't focus without you."

"I know, I miss you too," Sheila said with a vague tone of disinterest. "But you can't let that get on your mind. Please, just… go talk to Jona and get that job back. I want you to do what's right, not worry about me. For once, Wolf, I just want you to forget about me and do what Jona and the whole VGC needs you to do. You were born a fighter, and I don't want you to let me get in the way of that. Okay?"

Wolf's eyebrows curled downward. "I know what this is. You don't love me anymore."

Sheila's eyes shot wide open in sheer shock. "What?! Wolf, why do you think that?"

"Isn't it obvious? You're forcing me to complete this mission, which is keeping me away from you!"

"Wolf, I want you to do what's right," Sheila said, her voice quivering. "Stressing about me when I just told you I'm perfectly fine isn't okay. I don't want you to be dishonored out there just because you miss me and want to see me again. I know you will, but that will come in due time."

"And what if I don't? Hmm? What if I don't come back? What if what you told me to do got me killed?"

Sheila was legitimately at a loss for words. She just stared back at him, struggling to think of the words to say.

"You're trying to get me killed, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not!" Sheila pleaded shakily. "I just want you to lay off worrying about me all the time. I told you, I'm okay; so toughen up and—"

"Do you still love me?" Wolf questioned harshly.

"Wolf, just stop—"

"Answer the question, Sheila!" the lupine snapped, completely irate.

"Yes, I do," the husky whimpered like a frightened kitten. "I still love you. I love you with everything I have. But—"

"Then why are you trying to get rid of me?" the lupine growled.

Sheila started crying on the other end. "Wolf… you're scaring me…"

"Why? Cause you're little plan to get rid of me didn't work?"

"I wasn't trying to get rid of you!" Sheila exploded, tears streaming down her face.

"Don't fucking yell at me!" Wolf snarled. "You know what? I'm fucking done. You better hope I die tomorrow, because if I get home you will wish you never loved me."

"Wolf…" Sheila squeaked. "Please… stop acting so weird…"

"I'm not the one acting weird," Wolf growled angrily. "You're the one acting weird. You know what? You want me to be tougher? You got it. This is me now. Tough as nails son of a bitch. Now, _you_ quit acting like a bitch and get ready for when I come back. You asked for this, so now here you go."

Sheila sniffled pitifully. "Wolf…?"

"You better hope I don't come back," Wolf said sternly. "Goodbye."

He abruptly terminated the call, sequentially tearing his transmitter off of his wrist. He angrily casted it aside, bouncing it off of the foot of his bed before it clattered to the ground. Seething rage coursed through his veins, and to try to combat it he clenched and unclenched his paws, hoping that his blood pressure would simmer down before he had a heart attack.

In doing so, the artificial light caught the golden ring resting comfortably on his ring finger. He stopped instantly, staring at the wedding band with a strangely intriguing, yet remorseful expression. The longer he stared at his distorted reflection in the clean band of gold, the more his heart grieved at his outburst.

He realized that everything was falling apart at the seams. His relationships, his family, his safety… his sanity.

Seconds later, his transmitter began vibrating against the floor. It was probably Sheila, wanting an explanation. Wolf refused to get up and answer the call, letting it reverberate on the ground until it finally ceased moving. Even so, he started regretting his decision to leave it more and more, the more that the seconds seemed to drag by.

Once more, seconds later, it began ringing once more. Wolf finally mustered the strength to stand up and approach it, and in lifting it up he saw Sheila's contact information under the caller ID. His thumb quivered in front of the option to accept the call. He wanted to answer. God did he want to answer her.

It stopped ringing just as he attempted to answer. He gasped… but waited. Surely she'd call again. Seconds… _minutes_ went by… and she didn't. His transmitter didn't even light up with a text. His hope slowly degraded into hopelessness. Eventually, Wolf gave up and tossed the transmitter onto the ground, then flopped face-first onto his bed.

Nights sitting alone in the streets of Corneria City, wallowing in the rain without a place to rest his head from the cold, unforgiving weather started to replay themselves in his mind like a broken record. The cold sensation of the drops of rain permeating his tattered clothes. The excruciating pain of sore muscles. Hunger. It all hit him at once, as if he was reliving that moment in time all over again.

Reliving that same moment… years and years ago…

* * *

 _"Hey, pup," a voice shouted at him. "The hell you doing out in the rain?"_

 _He stayed silent, ignoring the tall figure as he stepped out of his car and walked towards him. He growled to try to deter the person, but that only made it worse._

 _"Hey, easy there kid, I'm not gonna hurt you."_

 _"Go away," he growled again. "I don't want your help."_

 _The taller figure—still blurry because of the hazy environment—stooped down to his level. "Why are you out here all by yourself?"_

 _"What's it matter to you?" Wolf spat scornfully, ears pinned against his head._

 _"I'm just wonderin' why you ain't home," the figure answered._

 _"And I'm wonderin' why you're wastin' your time here," Wolf retorted. "I told you; I don't want your help. Just go away."_

 _"Did I do something wrong?"_

 _"I said I don't want your help," he repeated with an acidic inflection._

 _"And what makes you think I'm gonna let a little kid like you stay on the streets, in the rain, in the middle of the night, without at least asking why the hell you're even out here in the first place?"_

 _Wolf whimpered. "Go away."_

 _"You got a place to stay?"_

 _"No."_

 _"How come?"_

 _"Didn't I tell you to go away?"_

 _"I just want an answer to my question."_

 _"I don't have a home, okay?" Wolf snapped. "Happy?"_

 _"No. I'm not happy. You look like you need some help."_

 _"I don't need it," he said defiantly. "I can take care of myself."_

 _"Sure doesn't look like it."_

 _Wolf growled, baring his teeth. "What did I say, old man? I told you I don't need your help. I don't have a place to stay, but I'm happy about that! Now just leave me alone!"_

 _An awkward silence ensued, while Wolf buried himself into his tattered clothes._

 _"Yes you do."_

 _Wolf jerked his head up to see the figure holding out his arm. "Huh?"_

 _"I says yes you do," the figure repeated, shaking his paw. "You said you don't have a home, but I'd be willing to change that for a day. How'd you like a nice meal and a place to rest your head for a night?"_

 _He felt his jaw unhinge. "W-w-what?"_

 _"You're a mess, pup. I want to help you out."_

 _"R-r-really?"_

 _"Of course," the figure answered warmly. "What's your name?"_

 _"Wolf."_

 _"Nice to meet you," the figure pulled him up to his feet, then suddenly the light hit his face in such a way that Wolf immediately recognized him._

 _"My name's James McCloud."_

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

 _The pain and the fights never seemed to end  
Every night wondering if we're even friends  
Now it's time to put this love out of it's misery  
Cause it's been dying, dying for too long  
Dying for too long  
If you're in pain that's how you belong_

 _I swear I gave you anything and everything  
Every little piece of me  
But all you did was look away  
When I said "I've had enough, I'm moving on"  
You said you're love was never lost  
I guess you didn't realize  
Until all of it was gone  
All of it was gone_

 _*Coldrain – Gone*_

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

 **What? You thought I was just  
gonna end it there? Haha, you guys;  
don't be ridiculous. I wouldn't leave  
it like that. Consider this next piece  
a nice, little apology for the lack  
of an update, the potentially bad  
proofing, and most of all, sticking with me  
through this rough stretch of writing…  
You can thank me later… :)**

 **~Sheppard**

* * *

 **\/(WARNING: MATURE CONTENT)\/  
\/(VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED)\/**

* * *

After rinsing all of the soap out of his hair, Joel basked in the warm, soothing stream of water for a few extra seconds before turning the dial all the way to off. He let the water bead and drip down into the drain as the steam slowly rose towards the ceiling, and once he felt like he had stood around long enough he reached out of the curtain and snatched up his towel. He shook his head dry with the soft fabric, and after drying up a few spots he pulled the curtain back and stepped out of the tub.

Tying the towel around his waist, he stepped over to the foggy mirror and wiped the condensation away, revealing his clean shaven face and his pale green eyes. He used the comb by the sink to clean up what little curly hair he had on his head, and after putting on a little extra deodorant, he went for his clothes that were sitting on the closed seat of the toilet nearby.

Only, they weren't there. In fact, they weren't in the bathroom at all.

Joel looked in the mirror and saw his cheeks start to redden. He knew he had heard the door shut earlier in his shower, but he just thought that it was Skae grabbing her hairbrush since it wasn't near the sink. Well, apparently she took a little more than just her hairbrush out of the bathroom.

Joel couldn't help but smirk at his reflection. "Oh, you're a naughty little wolf," he whispered to himself, untying the towel to dry himself up even more. "She definitely wants it."

He knew that this was much more than a little prank his platoon members would do. Skae was trying to have a bit of fun it seemed, but this was a whole different level. The way that she tried to be so secretive of it just screamed that she was hungry for a piece of him. And, in his mind, not only was he happy that the she-wolf tried to have a little fun, he was also a little relieved that she was this comfortable with him.

Yet, as he retied the towel around his waist and reached for the door handle, he froze. If he went out there like this, and Skae actually did this intentionally, there would be no way that he'd be able to escape her. Guaranteed she was on the other side of the door just waiting for him to come out. Just thinking about what might happen afterward made his anxiety skyrocket.

The only thing, however, that compelled him to turn the handle was that he truly was in love with her, and if she wanted to take it to the next level like that, then he'd be okay with it. It may be a bit weird, but, hell, it'd be worth it.

And just like he expected, when the door swung open as he pushed forward, there was Skae, lying comfortably on the bed. She was sitting up against the headboard with pillows lining her entire backside as she watched the televised sports game, but due to his angle on the TV he couldn't see what it was—he just heard the commentary. She had the thick, gray comforter wrapped around everything below her neck, making her look like she was in a world of bliss.

Surprisingly, she didn't notice him at first, but Joel noticed something that proved his hypothesis right. On the armchair in the corner of the room was his set of neatly folded clothes—the same ones he had set inside the bathroom for him to wear after he was done with his shower. But, underneath his clothes was another set of garments, haphazardly folded and stuffed onto the chair. Those, to Joel's dismay, were hers—everything from her shirt she had on all day to her underclothes, sitting on top of his clothes like they had been there the entire time.

When Skae's head turned over to face him, he immediately felt his heart start to quicken pace.

"All better?" Skae asked teasingly, followed by a round of her adorable, intoxicating giggling.

"The water here is really nice," Joel awkwardly replied, pretending to be looking for his clothes. "But the soap smells a bit strange."

"It sure doesn't on you," the she-wolf cooed, twitching her nose.

Joel chuckled to try and eliminate the sexual tension, inadvertently making it worse. Seemingly ignoring her sly comment, he asked, "Have you seen my clothes? I thought I put some in the bathroom before I went in there."

"You did," Skae answered confidently, grinning at the human innocently. "But I took them out."

Joel looked up at her and lifted his eyebrow. "Why?"

Skae suddenly purred seductively and started pulling the comforter down from her neck slowly, exposing more and more fur with each second. "Because you don't need them."

Joel knew right then and there, but he decided to add onto the act to see how long he could keep her in waiting. Tentatively, he said, "Well, it's a little cold in here. Do you think we can turn up the heat?"

Skae laughed softly, staring at him with such a desperate longing that Joel started to feel a little uncomfortable despite his earlier thoughts. "Oh, Joel, honey, believe me. You won't want to turn up the heat."

Joel couldn't keep a straight face. "No?"

Skae giggled again when the comforter started sliding down her chest, which was not restricted by anything other than her arms. "Because I'm all the heat you could ever want."

Joel was about to speak up, but stopped dead in his tracks when Skae suddenly flipped the heavy blanket off of her frame, exposing herself completely to him. It took all of the man's willpower not to let a cry of eagerness slip his mouth or to not let a tent pitch itself in his towel. Granted, her thick layer of fur provided an insulating barrier for her body, but even though she looked incredibly wolf-like, she was still damn gorgeous. She had the figure of a model and the curves of a strong, young woman, all wrapped up in an anthropomorphic northwestern wolf's body.

Gawking at her lithe body, Joel suddenly felt a wave of heat rush him, followed by the warm, wet sensation of a drop of blood seeping out of his nose. It took what little strength he had at the moment to keep himself from falling over, but it was becoming more and more of a struggle the more she flaunted her body in a painfully obvious manner, despite her apparent tentativeness. Even Joel knew that it was her first time trying to seduce her man, but he'd be lying if he said she wasn't doing it right.

Blushing just as bad as Joel was, she turned over on her side and shyly showed off what she had. "Remember what you said when we first got here? About wanting me in your bedroom?"

Joel didn't respond. He was just too infatuated with the she-wolf. In fact, he gave up trying to withhold his arousal and allowed the bulge in his towel to form.

"I think we have a bit of time, don't you think?" she asked, biting her lower lip as she stared longingly at the human. "Come here, handsome. Show me what you've got."

Joel's heart was practically beating out of his chest, and he was most likely drowning in his hormones and desires, but something in the back of his mind kept telling him to stop and not let it escalate. Even with his blood flowing and his emotions spiking, he couldn't make himself advance and take her up on her offer, despite thinking positively of it after his shower.

Skae noticed that he had become stuck in his hesitance, so she picked herself up off of the bed and approached him. Smiling, she pressed her soft body against his bare skin, damn near grinding against him. Purring as she ran her paws over his toned frame, she said, "You look like you could use a relaxing night, hmm? I know how to fix it."

Joel finally pushed that last bit of hesitance into the back of his mind and let his heat do the talking. "I'd love to see you try."

Skae smiled widely, brushing her muzzle on his cheek. "That's more like it," she cooed, unsheathing the tip of her tongue to lick at his face. Her free paw traveled farther and farther down, using one clawed digit to trace a line down his chest and midsection. She got right about to his hip before he grabbed her wrist, holding her in place.

"Are you sure?" Joel suddenly asked.

"Absolutely," Skae answered with a ravenous tone, licking her lips for good measure. "You may think you want me, but I _need_ you more than anything. One night is all I ask."

"Right now," Joel said with an uncertain inflection.

"While we don't have to worry about anyone else," Skae added on. "No leaders, no conflict, no mission… just you and me… and the rest of tonight… sounds good, no?"

The human nodded and planted a quick kiss on her face. "You make a good argument."

"Then what are you waiting for?" the she-wolf asked teasingly, pulling at the towel wound around his waist. "Show me what fun we'll have tonight."

"Why don't you find out?" Joel smirked, cupping her furry ass in one hand, while pulling her in for a deep, passionate kiss with the other. Joel felt her large tail start to wag, occasionally slapping against his legs. Then he felt the towel wound around his waist fall to the ground. In one fluid motion afterward, Joel scooped up the she-wolf and brought her back to the bed, refusing to break the kiss in the process. Skae pulled him in with her, and in a matter of seconds they were groping and fondling each other as they rolled around on the sheets. The duo kissed, nipped, and bit each other with a loving, yet near bestial intensity, until Skae finally stopped. She found herself on her back with the human on top of her; his rather impressive size pulsating on her stomach.

Joel found himself entranced with her body. All of her fluffy, lithe curves were visible with the starlight seeping in through the porthole, and her musk was starting to fill the room, which he found even more stimulating. She giggled adorably, fluttering his heart again as she winked.

"It's okay, big guy," Skae whispered seductively, giving him a reassuring squeeze on his hand. "Go for it. I'm yours."

With that, she readjusted her body and slightly opened up her legs, giving Joel that last little incentive he needed. Flicking on a metaphorical switch in his mind, he flipped from extremely tentative to passively dominant, fixing his mount before he started. He lowered his head to let Skae give him a quick little lick on his nose, then guided himself towards her. Slowly, Joel breathed to psych himself up, then slid forward.

Surprisingly, Skae did not overreact when Joel plunged in. In fact, she remained relatively placid, letting out a long, soft moan at the sensation. Joel felt like he did something right, so he continued, beginning to grind into her as if his life depended on it. Amazingly, she warmed up to his larger than normal size right away, which made the passionate love-making less of a struggle. It wasn't long before they both started panting from exertion, sweat starting to bead on their bodies. So much for Joel taking a shower.

What amazed him was how easily he seemed to fit, being that other girls he had been with before struggled to take him so quick. Skae, despite being only recently deflowered, fit him with such a perfect ease that Joel immediately thought he had found his perfect match. Skae squirmed under his hold and occasionally let out a whimper, but Joel knew that she was loving every second of it.

Aside from their quiet moans and occasional soft command, the duo stayed silent, appreciating each other not for their bodies, but for who they came to love. Although the entire exchange started off as a lustful exploration of their enigmatic curves and ridges that made up their respective bodies, soon thereafter their commitment reflected nothing but a deep love they were only expressing through the most passionate and intimate of ways.

At that moment, Joel didn't believe he was mating with an alien. He believed that all he was doing was sharing his love with the one he loved. That was all that mattered to him.

Not once did either of them get rough or _want_ to get rough. It was a gentle exchange, not stimulating, but sensual in a deep, spiritual sort of way. He didn't see it as a means to finally eliminate the sexual tension between the two, but as a means of bonding. A bonding between two different species previously considered to mix like oil and water.

Skae was right about it all. There was a deeper connection between the two races; only separated by an iron curtain of deceit, failed trust, and blind rage. Once the curtain drops, there really isn't a reason to hate them for who they are. Never did he think he would develop such a strong relationship from a Lylatian creature, let alone take her to bed and share such an intimate act. That curtain clouded his perceptions until he slipped through it and saw what it was hiding.

Someone just needed to take that curtain down.

Remaining quiet, Skae's vice grip tightened, and when she felt like she was about to explode, she let out a breathy moan intertwined with the human's name, detonating underneath all of her pleasure. All of her muscles tightened at once, then fell limp just as fast. Joel did the same, growling her name after one last push, opening the floodgates. Never did either one of them feel so warm, loved, and complete in their lives.

As their pleasures waned and their heartrates simmered down, Joel gently gave her one more kiss, to which she just giggled and weakly smiled back at him. With a hoarse, yet silky voice, Skae whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too," Joel breathed quietly, gently removing himself from the she-wolf, but instantly cuddled up to her afterwards. Resting his head in her slightly damp, downy pelt of fur just underneath her neck, he gripped her with a possessive and needy, yet restrained grasp, basking in her warmth. Skae positioned herself in a way to hold him in much the same way, setting her muzzle on top of his head. Minutes went by in silence. Just the two of them soaking in the love given to each of them. They were the happiest couple alive at that moment.

It wasn't long before their heartrates settled down enough to send both of them to sleep with nothing but their corresponding lover for warmth.

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

 _Oh dear I pray so I wait by the moon  
Knowing your stray silhouette hunts you too  
Still I chase you down  
Couldn't keep away  
Fever's coming now  
I want the high again_

 _You got me brainwashed  
You got me so lost  
You got me fucked up… like you  
You got me drugged up  
You got me undone  
Falling in love like you do  
And if you lie down with wolves, you learn to howl  
You got me brainwashed  
You got me so lost  
You got me fucked up… like you_

 _*Dreamers – Wolves*_


	20. Awakening

**A/N: For some reason, the scenes this time around were much shorter than they usually are, but no matter; I've got another chapter done, which seems to be a rare occurrence nowadays. Also, in spite of the situations unfolding in the story, there are five chapters remaining if my planning goes off without any issues. That being said, and as I always say, tell me what you guys think, because there's not much time left to do so. I'm getting excited to see the ending myself, so expect much more frequent updates...**

 **...Nope, couldn't keep a straight face. XD**

 **~Sheppard**

* * *

 _Staring out and over my words again  
Makes me start to believe that  
Wearing your lies over these words of mine  
Always feels like my mistake_

 _Return all of this to sender  
The mirror spoke to me and showed  
All of this pretending  
Well it's catching up to me_

 _Lights out  
Wake up  
Stay calm  
Decide  
Reach out  
Stand or  
Be an eyesore  
Lights out  
Wake up  
Stay calm  
Decide  
Reach out  
Stand or  
Be an eyesore_

 _*Janus – Eyesore*_

* * *

 **Chapter 20: Awakening**

* * *

The fallout with his wife the night before really did a number on the human General. Part of him wanted to believe that it was his fault for letting his impulsive emotions take the better of his judgement and careful calculations, but another part—the more dominant one—believed that his previously overwhelming case of xenophobic actions put a damper on his ideals. But hearing his wife go on a racist rant more powerful than his own when he first started the attack confirmed his assumptions.

He was stuck in the middle; if he stayed, he'd get caught up in the brewing conflict and end up causing more trouble, but if he went home he'd have to face the shame and potential consequences from backing out of the attack on Lylat. But at this point, _anything_ sounded better than facing potential genocide. Still, it made him feel like metaphorical shit.

That night, Monica actually heard Todd's outburst, and went in to talk to him about it. Todd used her as a shoulder to cry on, telling her everything about what was going on in his life and his mind. Monica understood and provided a very comforting figure Todd could spend time with. Well, needless to say, a combination of that consolation and the fallout minutes prior, one thing led to another, and that morning Todd woke up by her side. He knew everything that had occurred in between then and now.

A fairly inclusive discussion between the two followed over a cup of coffee. They both agreed to keep the situation under wraps so Todd could sort things out. If things went well after his return, nothing would be said ever again. If things didn't go well with his previous beloved, I.E: figuratively flushing the relationship down the toilet, Todd had a fallback. Either way, Monica would never forget what happened between them.

After the dust settled, Todd arranged a meeting with Senator Enroth to discuss the ongoing situation. Enroth insisted that he report to his personal abode, since it was much closer than his diplomatic office. He accepted, and after gearing up and allowing Monica to accompany him, they braved the brewing storm; fighting through the extremely poor visibility, whipping winds, and abysmally low temperatures.

He and Monica approached the main stairs, trudging through the build-up snow drifts all the way up to the front door. Todd knocked hard, hoping that his plea would be audible over the howling winds. To his relief, they were. The copper husky sporting his usual suit and tie greeted them, not waiting another second to invite them inside.

"General McClellan; Miss Dion," Senator Enroth said warmly, shutting the door as soon as both of his guests entered. "I received your request, obviously, but what is all of this about?"

"I need to talk to you," Todd answered, stripping of his snow-covered overcoat. "It's about this… this revenge plan."

"Did you think of something new?" Enroth asked with interest, then suddenly raised up a paw. "Oh, wait, don't tell me now. Come inside; we have a nice fireplace going right now. Can I interest you in a hot cup of Fichinian brew? Its warming properties are what keep most of us from freezing out there."

Todd agreed, following the husky into the hallway and into a small living room. There sat a large fireplace; the blazing fire contained in the large brick pit warming and illuminating the dark wood construction and furniture the room consisted itself of. Todd and Monica sat on the couch overlooking the fireplace, while Enroth excused himself and slipped into the kitchen residing on the opposite side of the room.

Monica wasted no time in scooting up to Todd, grasping his arm and holding it in her own arms. "What are you gonna do? Lance won't agree with you; you know that, right?"

"I'll have to persuade him," Todd told her.

"Persuade me what?" Enroth asked, carrying three mugs in his paws. He laid two of them on the table in front of the couch, then sat in the armchair jutting off from one of the corners, crossing his legs as he held the piping hot cup close to his chest. "Is there something _else_ I should know?"

Todd sighed, distorting the trail of steam stemming from the hot cup of coffee perched in his hands. "Senator Enroth, I need to explain something to you."

"It's about you breaking protocol, isn't it?" Enroth said with a sudden scowl. "Don't bother explaining, I know exactly what you did."

Todd let his eyes fall. "I know, I patched a call through the secure network."

"What were you thinking?" Enroth inquired harshly. "You probably put our location on the radar! And what, you probably disclosed Joel's location, didn't you?"

"My wife deserves to know where our kid is," Todd snapped back.

"Well, now our location is compromised," Enroth spat. "And Joel's as good as dead now that you put his face in the open."

"It was a secure network!" Todd hissed.

"I'm not taking any chances," the husky growled. "It's your fault we're in this mess, so it's your job to get us out. What I mean is that you need to get your teams together and destroy Antigone, now."

Todd's throat instantly went dry. "No, Joel needs more time."

"The more time we waste, the more likely we'll get ratted out and overrun," the Senator snapped back. "He's a liability at this point."

"Senator, please," Todd pleaded. "I've already lost most of my family already. I can't lose him too."

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you broke explicitly defined protocol," Enroth shot with a fierce intensity, glaring at the General with a look that could paralyze normal men in fear. "Now, I want you out of my home, and if you don't authorize that attack, I will not hesitate to throw you and your kind under the bus and say you kept us hostage."

"You wouldn't," Todd growled.

"Who would they believe?" the copper husky sneered. "An alien like you, or an honest politician like me?"

"Your militia attacked Cerinia!" Todd refuted.

"And yours killed the acting Cornerian General and wounded the Prime Minister, effectively sparking the conflict between them and Veris. Thousands of lives are at stake because of your people. Thousands of innocent people versus hundreds of Cerinian savages. Who's got it worse, you or me?"

Todd sprung up from the couch, the only thing holding him back from caving in the husky's muzzle was Monica holding onto him.

"You're going to help us take town Antigone, and cement our presence as a threat to not be messed with," Enroth grinned sadistically. "If you even think about bailing, there will be warships at Earth's doorstep and ready to glass your planet into a wasteland."

"It doesn't matter if we help or not; we're going to get destroyed either way!" the human snarled. "I want my son to come home, and I demand that we leave, immediately! I'm pulling back our troops, whether you like it or not."

"You're doing the wrong thing here," Enroth said surely. "Even if I don't say anything, the Cornerians and Verians will see you leave and follow, and they'll do a lot more damage to you than what they did last time."

"Our fight isn't with them anymore," Todd remarked.

"Then who is it with?"

"Nobody," he replied, causing the husky to scoff in disgust. "Senator, listen to me. We came here because we wanted the entire Lylatian race to regret what they did to us. But, when we came here, we realized how much of a fractured state Lylat is in. We found out that only Corneria is our enemy; nobody else. But they're going to get dismantled by Veris anyway, so there's no reason for us to stay, get caught, and have Earth be destroyed for real this time."

Enroth opened his muzzle to retort, but Todd quickly cut him off, saying, "And I found out that… there's a lot more to our races than just fighting. There's a lot more than that. Take my son for example. He hated the Lylatian race because they killed his brother and sister. He wanted revenge more than I do. Now… Joel found that he and Skae are deeply in love, and even I can't get in the way of them. And it's not just him, either. I found it out too... I fell in love with this one."

Todd turned away and gently tapped his forehead against the snow leopardess' ears, getting her to grin at the touch. Enroth just sighed and shook his head.

"Disgusting," he spat, setting his mug on the coffee table as he stood up. "Your entire family is repulsive. Any of my people that fall for your disgusting race are just as unbelievable as you sound. You're a coward, General. I don't care who you think you are, or who your family is, but I can tell you right now I can't stand it."

"You take that back!" Todd growled.

"You're a married man, General McClellan," Enroth growled back, scowling at the two. "You're cheating with someone that isn't even your own specie! That's absolutely appalling!"

"Valerie doesn't love me anymore!" Todd snarled. "Ask her yourself. And this isn't any of your business, Senator. These are my troops, and they will obey me as they are trained to. You're not their leader. _I_ am."

Enroth glared at the human. "Then I'll do it myself."

The copper husky procured a radio transmitter from his pocket, flicking a switch as he raised it to his muzzle. "It's Enroth. Get three Destroyers prepped, now. We're attacking Antigone."

"No!" Todd shouted, advancing towards the husky, but Monica held him back as best as she could. "You can't do this!"

"I just did," the canine frowned, tossing the device onto his armchair. "Now get out of my house, you filthy, unfaithful, sorry excuse for a general."

Seething with rage, Todd balled his hands, but used what little restraint he had to keep himself from caving his muzzle in. He nudged Monica, and the two slipped into the hallway.

"Have fun dishonoring your family with your whore; filthy human."

Todd blew his lid right there. Breaking free of Monica's hold, he stormed back into the living room, then delivered a staggering blow to his muzzle. A tooth and a decent amount of blood followed, but Todd wasn't done yet. He grabbed his tie, yanked it around his neck, and then pressed his forearm against the back of his throat, continuously yanking the tie in the opposite direction.

"Todd!" Monica shouted as Senator Enroth sputtered and gasped for breath, a steady stream of blood pouring out of his face. "Todd, stop!"

The human delivered a heavy kick right underneath the hole in the Senator's pants for his tail, harshly slamming him into the wall. The husky collapsed after impacting the wall, coughing and gasping for breath as he massaged his violated throat. Monica quickly sped in to intervene, gently pushing at his chest to get him to leave.

"You'll pay for this," the copper husky sputtered hoarsely.

"I already did," Todd growled. "And I swear if my son or his girl don't make it out of there alive, I'll personally come by and kill you myself. With all due respect, kindly go fuck yourself, Senator."

With that, Todd gave Monica a hug and a quick kiss on her forehead, then left the presence of the wounded Senator, letting him cough violently and lay in a pool of his own blood.

"Oh, and good luck getting the Cornerians to attack Earth," Todd's voice resounded through the hall. "Unless they can defend against Torus, they're gonna have a bad day. Tell that to the Cornerians."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Slowly but surely, Fox's eyes began to flutter open to his dark bedroom. Unconsciously, his adjusting eyes wandered to the clock sitting on the opposite side of the room, seeing that it was just past three in the morning. He wanted to just shut his eyes and fall back asleep, but his throat began to burn as soon as he tried to bury his face into his pillow. Yet, when he attempted to reach for the glass of water perched on his nightstand, he found both of his arms restrained by the sliver vixen sleeping soundly next to him.

Arcene's warm breath started to wash over his neck, ruffling almost all of his short neck fur. Her head rested on his shoulder, her arm draped over his chest in a loose, but possessive grasp. Fox barely managed to slip his left arm out from underneath her body, then after taking a quick drink to quench the fire brewing in his throat, he slipped right back into Arcene's warmth. Half-asleep, Fox nuzzled up to her, affectionately holding her at her waistline while massaging the back of her paw with his other hand.

Right when he felt himself slip back into dreamland again, a buzz sounded on his nightstand. It repeated over and over again, sounding like a small jackhammer drilling into his table after a while. With a soft groan, he flipped over again and snatched his transmitter up, but bolted right awake when he saw who it was.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Fox immediately questioned in a groggy tone.

"Fox, you need to leave," Vince's shaky and urgent voice spewed out at him.

"What? Why?" Fox attempted to whisper, but it was coming out more like a hushed yell. He heard Arcene stir behind him, so he gently pivoted his body and gently rubbed her exposed shoulder to calm her down.

"The Verian's system picked up executive orders from Muzzin," Vince relayed. "It's not just CDF soldiers being put into combat anymore. It's _everyone_. Including you."

"What?" Fox about shouted.

"He's building a numbers game, but he's leading them into a trap. Fox, listen to me. Do exactly what I tell you."

"Fox, what's wrong?" Arcene whispered softly, but Fox hissed at her to keep her quiet.

"You need to get to HQ's landing bay," Vince stated firmly, yet he couldn't control the noticeable shaking in his voice. "Grab Arcene, grab Jake, and get to HQ _now_. We've already started accepting Cornerian refugee ships, but I can't get you in unless you get on those ships."

Fox tossed the comforter away from his body and began slapping the clothes he wore the previous day on, continuously talking to Vince. "Are they going to Veris?"

"King Xiphos opened the border when he heard of Muzzin's planned order," the arctic fox answered. "He said he's willing to accept as many refugees as he can if they get here before the CDF begins their attack. They've got the VGC working overtime to ensure background checks and all that jazz, but I can vouch for you, Arcy, and Jake. You just need to get them here."

"Thank you so much Vince," Fox said, grunting as he fumbled with his clothes and the transmitter.

"Good luck Fox," Vince breathed. "Stay safe. I'll be at the refugee center waiting for you."

Fox terminated the call, then after tossing his transmitter on the foot of his bed, he continued throwing on yesterday's clothes. Arcene picked herself out of the bed, hesitantly approaching the vulpine with her ears pinned back into her mess of tangled hair.

"Fox, what's wrong?" she asked innocently, rubbing her paws together nervously. "What did Vince say?"

"We need to go," Fox answered, tossing a jacket over his shoulders. The poor vixen was too afraid to even budge at this point; she just watched Fox furiously and haphazardly throw extra clothes into a black backpack he pulled out of his closet. Turning back to the frozen vixen, Fox reiterated with more inflection, "Arcy, we _need_ to go."

"Why?" she squeaked out, visibly trembling as a result of fear and apparent coldness.

"We're in danger if we stay any longer," Fox answered, pulling the bag up to his shoulders. As he rewound his transmitter on his wrist, he asked, "Do you have extra clothes here?"

"Yes, but—"

"Just grab them; don't ask questions," the vulpine interrupted, opening the bedroom door. "Meet me at the car when you're done. I gotta get Jake up."

Without waiting for the silver vixen to answer, Fox slipped out into the hallway, going into the door almost directly on the opposite side of the narrow hall. Fox gently opened the door, quietly stepped inside, and then sat on the little kit's beside and scratched the back of his head to wake him up. He let out a soft moan upon waking up, and at the sight of Fox's darkened face, he smiled.

"Come on Jake, we're gonna leave," Fox whispered.

"Where we goin'?" he asked curiously, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"We're gonna go see Uncle Vinny," the vulpine replied in the most reassuring voice he could muster. That was all he needed to say to get Jake out of bed.

"Do— do— do I gotta get dressed?" he asked, pulling at his pajama pants.

"No, you're okay for now," Fox assured. "Go find Arcy, okay?"

"Okay," he answered, grabbing his stuffed animal off of his bed. Fox followed him out, and guided him to his bedroom only to get stopped by a call on his transmitter in the hallway. Fox told Jake to go inside, then after he trotted in and gave Arcene a hug, Fox answered the call. He breathed a sigh of relief when Falco's voice answered.

"Did'ja hear?" he immediately questioned, urgency tainting his tone like Vince, only his was much more controlled.

"I'm already getting ready," Fox answered, leaning up against the hallway wall. "Arcy and Jake are getting their stuff ready too. We'll be there in fifteen minutes, tops."

"Good," the avian huffed. "Most of the team is here; Miyu, Fay, Bill, and Fara too. Our transport is gettin' full, so you guys better hurry. I don't know if we'll have much more room."

"We'll make room," Fox adamantly stated. "Which one are you on?"

"One of the last ones they have runnin' right now; two-oh-five alpha. We're gonna have to leave soon; the feds are shuttin' them down."

"Shit," Fox swore under his breath. "I'm on my way. Tell them to wait just a little bit longer. Please."

"We ain't leavin' without you and your family, Foxie," Falco replied confidently. "Me and Bill'll keep the area clear. Just hurry."

"Thanks Fal," Fox smiled, gesturing inside of his bedroom for Arcene and Jake to get moving, which they did. As the trio sped down the stairs towards the garage, Fox added, "Do you know how many left so far?"

"I have no idea," the avian admitted. "But that's not important right now. What is, is that you three get here, and get here soon."

"Okay, okay, we're going," the vulpine slipped inside of his car, immediately turning the engine on as the other two black foxes slipped inside the back seat. After hearing their respective seatbelts click, Fox throttled forward, immediately speeding down the streets in hopes to get to HQ as quickly as he physically can. "How did you know to get there so soon?"

"My old man sent me a message," Falco answered. "Two, actually. The second one actually had Secretary Reeves' signature on it, sayin' that any available civilian transports at HQ be loaded up with as many civilians as possible to seek refuge on Veris. Reeves struck a deal with the king late last night, 'cause he knew that we would be busted as soon as word got out."

"Reeves," Fox smirked. "The only good man in office."

"No shit," Falco scoffed. "Now hurry. We ain't got much time."

"I'm on the freeway now," Fox assured, nearly fumbling with the wheel as he sped onto a sloping ramp to get onto the main freeway intertwining with the city's structure. "Keep a room warm for me."

"Good luck Fox."

The vulpine terminated the call, then let a sigh seep through his teeth as he drove.

"Fox, what's going on?" Arcene asked with a terribly shaky voice. "What's happening?"

"We're getting off Corneria," Fox answered. "Muzzin's executive order is gonna force the both of us to fight. Veris is accepting refugees, and Vince said he'll get is though without a problem, so that's what we're doing. We're not taking the risk staying here."

Arcene whimpered. "I'm scared."

"We'll be fine," Fox assured. "Just stay strong for me, Arcy. Please."

The vixen stayed silent, other than making a little sniffling sound.

"Trust me," Fox said after a brief pause, turning right off of the freeway and onto city streets. It was only a few more minutes after that until the vulpine sped through the main gates of the HQ building. He pulled into his designated spot—which was once his father's—then gathered up everyone and set away for the tarmac. He could see civilian transports dotting the airfield, even from where he was, but the only one that mattered was the one he was supposed to get on.

As they encroached on the airfield, he noticed Miyu pacing along the wall of the main building. At the sight of Fox and the others, she said a few words into her wrist and ran off towards them.

"We don't have much time," the lynx blurted out, pushing on their backs after slipping behind them, forcing them to run. "Get on, quick!"

Luckily, the first transport on the tarmac that he saw had the unmistakable form of Falco standing next to the main ramp. He shouted at them, waving both of his wings to get their attention. They slipped aboard, and as Falco ran up the ramp, he yelled into his wrist to tell the pilot of the transport to get going.

It wasn't long before their transport was airborne and bound for Veris Alpha; their only remaining safe haven.

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

Joel awoke at the faint sensation of fur tickling his bare chest. Sure enough, when he opened his eyes, there was Skae, sound asleep in his arms. She must've unintentionally moved her head residing on his chest just enough to get him to wake up. Yet, it was a good thing that she did, because Joel noticed that the digital clock sitting on the far dresser said that it was well past high noon. Their night of passion tuckered them out enough to sleep over ten hours.

Yet, the human just laid there, gently running his fingers through her red dyed hair. She looked so peaceful lying on him as she did. Her arms were limply strewn around his waist and midsection, while her head gently rose and fell with every breath he took. The only thing Joel didn't like about this moment was that her tail was dangerously close to his privates, and at the slightest movement, he'd end up waking her up because of growing stiff.

Joel bent down and kissed her head, to which her ears twitched at the sensation. A breathy moan followed, and moments later Skae lifted her head up, looking straight up at Joel. They both smiled at the same time.

"Good morning, my loving mate," Skae purred groggily, resting her head back down on his chest.

"Did you sleep well?" Joel asked, unfazed by her comment.

Skae hummed in approval. "Best night of sleep I've ever had," she answered, outstretching her arms to loosen up her muscles. The covers came loose from her body, which Joel smirked at in getting a quick little peak of her uncovered chest again.

"Sore?" Joel inquired, almost drooling as Skae flipped away the covers completely, unabashedly showing off that she didn't like to wear clothes when she slept in such a situation. She flung her legs over and stamped her hind paws on the floor before standing up, allowing Joel to get a nice, long look at her fluffy ass.

"How could I be sore?" the she-wolf asked right back, tail flicking as she spun around to face him. Again, the human couldn't help but stare at her lithe body unrestrained by the limits of clothing. Gaining a sly smile, she rubbed at her toned belly and said, "You're nice and gentle in bed. I love that about you."

Joel blushed, a quick replay of last night's intimacy flooding his mind. "I'm glad you liked it."

Skae hummed, seductively running her claws through her fur in the most sensitive and provocative of places, causing Joel to turn redder than her fur dye.

"You think we should get down there for our reservation?" Joel stuttered, trying not to pitch a tent in the covers.

"Absolutely," Skae nodded, rushing over to her dress hanging on one of the hooks by the door. "I'm gonna put this on. You got clothes too, right?"

"I grabbed something while you were looking for a dress," Joel answered.

"Good, put it on!"

Joel didn't even have time to reply before her frame disappeared into the bathroom, the door shutting in her wake. With a sigh, the Lieutenant slipped out of the covers, stretching his arms and back out as he stepped over to the neat, formal suit draped on the armchair in the corner of the room. After spraying a bit of cologne over his body to mask the musky smell of sex, he took apart his suit and reassembled it on his body.

All the while, Joel couldn't help but think about her. Just thinking about her shapely curves, picturesque appearance, warm smile, and even warmer affection made the human smile in knowing that she fell for him. He couldn't shake the objective fact that Skae was truly his. Even with the potential of being ridiculed for having an anthropomorphic wolfess as a partner didn't dissuade him.

Yet, a fact slapped him in the face the more he thought about it. When he woke up, Skae called him his mate. Did she really consider him that close? Well, they did share a bout of intimacy in a fit of passion, but she couldn't really consider him a mate, could she? There was just too big of a specie gap between them. Hell, there was just a specie gap, period. Granted, there was love between them, and he knew that it could stand the test of time, but were they rushing it?

"Joel?"

He spun around immediately, rewarded by Skae's glimmering gold dress twirling with her swaying hips. Biting her lip, she continued, "Is something wrong?"

Joel began tying the scarlet red tie around his neck. "I'm okay."

"You look sad," Skae answered, slowly stepping up to him.

"I'm not sad," Joel answered with a grin. "How could I be sad when you're wearing that?"

Skae giggled. "True. And I can't be sad when my mate is wearing that."

Joel stopped in his tracks. "What?"

The she-wolf suddenly looked confused. "Huh?"

"Did you call me your mate?" Joel asked.

"Yeah," she grinned. "And I'm yours. That's what we agreed to last night."

Joel felt his heart sink a little bit, even so he hid his expression well.

"And, I don't know if it's the same for you humans, but Fichinian wolves mate for life," she added, stepping up closer to him. "So no matter what, Joel, I stay by your side."

Joel let a breath out of his nose; a long breath laced with fear, elation, hesitance, and relief, all bottled up into one powder keg of emotions. He lifted up his head, a smile following suit, but his emerald green eyes refused to look at her, even in all of her brilliance.

"The truth is… We're really not like that," Joel admitted. "We don't mate for life, but we like to think we do."

Skae's eyes started to wobble faintly. "So… do you not want to?" she asked with a heavy tone of disappointment. "I understand if you don't want to, but—"

"No, Skae," Joel interjected before she could continue, suddenly taking her paws in his hands. "It's your culture. It was just a shock to me, that's all."

Her ears folded back.

"I want to," he told her, sneaking in a quick little peck at her nose. "I've been thinking about it ever since we got here. I've… really never fallen in love with anyone as much as I have with you."

The she-wolf smiled. "Do you mean that?"

"Of course," Joel grinned back. "In fact," he started, reaching into his neck to pull on a silver chain hidden away by his suit. Turns out, as he pulled the chain off of his head, the chain housed two silver tags, engraved with his name and rank. As he held the chain in his hands, he said, "I want to give these to you."

Skae's muzzle went agape slightly as the human draped the chain around her neck; the two silver tags dangling just below her bosom. She wasted no time in grabbing one of the stainless steel tags, admiring the name engraved on the one she picked.

"It's far from romantic, I know," Joel chuckled sheepishly, staring back at the tags. "But I think you deserve something to show for who we are."

Skae lifted her tear covered eyes back up to him. "Am I yours then?" she asked intently.

"If you want to," Joel answered back. "We're apparently mated for life, so I guess that means that we can claim each other as our own now. Is that okay with you?"

"Goodness yes!" she yipped, forcing him in for a tight, affectionate hug. "Now can I call you my husband?"

Joel chuckled and held onto her, refusing to let her soft frame go. "Not yet. I don't think I'm ready for a wife just yet. How about my fiancée?"

"Deal," she giggled, wedging herself free. "I think these are better than a ring, honestly."

"I'm glad you like them," Joel smiled. "Ready to go?"

"Of course," Skae smiled back, planting a kiss of her own on his face. He led her out of their room, then set a course for the elevators that would take them down to the place of their complimentary meal. After the two stepped into the elevator and felt it descend into the main concourse, Skae spoke up.

"Hey Joel?"

Joel turned to face her.

"What will happen if I get pregnant?"

Joel looked at her skeptically. "I'm honestly not even sure if you _can_ … there's quite a bit of a… _gap_ … between us."

"They don't know if we can or not, though," Skae explained. "They've been researching it I think, and although they can't confirm it, they can't prove that it's impossible."

The human Lieutenant just stared back at her. "Then we'll have to find out for ourselves, don't we?"

Skae let a smirk crease her muzzle. "I hope I can though. Our kids would be cute."

Joel grinned to himself, restraining the urge to dissuade her from talking like that so soon. For the most part, the couple stayed quiet while continuously exchanging friendly and affectionate gestures as they trekked from the elevators to the restaurant that held their reservation. Unfortunately, it was clear on the other side of the station, so when they got up to the main entrance, they were longing for a place to rest their legs.

 _The Winter Eclipse_ , the Verian restaurant on-board, had a very comfortable and relaxing ambiance as they approached. Shrouded in a dark, reddened glow, and complete with exquisite and luxurious furnishings inside, the restaurant clearly knew that it had the title of the best on-board eatery and flaunted that title shamelessly.

It didn't take long for the couple to be written down and escorted to their reserved spot; a small booth close to the bar, nestled underneath the glow of an extravagant chandelier hanging from the center of the hexagonal pattern the numerous booths were centered around. They were waited on almost instantly by a rather beautiful Verian waitress, so they put in their requests for drinks right away.

They were too busy talking to each other to notice a large Verian Guardian and a blue furred vixen request a spot at the bar, to which they were granted their request immediately after the Guardian flashed his ID.

"Jona," the vixen whispered, a gentle nudge following. "It's him."

Jona looked out of his peripheral vision to take note of the human and his date. "Son of a bitch," he muttered under his breath, clenching his teeth.

"Wait," Quina added, gently grasping his arm laying over the elongated, slightly curved bar counter. "He's… he's not hostile."

"How?" Jona growled, more because of being in the heat of the moment rather than actually being angry with her.

"They're talking about escaping," Quina explained, pressing a few digits against her temple. "They're not fighting anymore. They want to find a safe haven."

Jona shook his head. "Typical terrans; the cowards they are. Can't even face their fears."

The Verian spared a glance in their direction, seeing the human at the table holding the wolfess' paw with a tight grasp. He felt his aura of love and couldn't help but smile.

"I'll be dammed," he half-joked. "Giving up a horrid cause for a girl. Pretty cute for a Fichinian too. She just wishes she's as beautiful as you."

"Aww, save the sap, Jo," Quina giggled. "What are we gonna do with them? They're the insurgents, are they not?"

"No doubt about it," Jona affirmed. "But they're saying they want to bail, and it's not because they saw us come in. What do you think we should do with them?"

"They're the leaders behind the Cerinia attack," Quina reminded. "Even if they want to reconcile, a sin of such an awful magnitude cannot be forgiven this easily."

"I know," he nodded. "But if they truly want to apologize, I can't deny them and send them off to trial. I'll talk to them."

Just as Jona stood up, his eyes suddenly caught a white streak standing in the entrance of the restaurant. He instantly recognized the pearly white vulpine as Spencer, his target. With Wolf already halfway home at this point, the Verian disregarded the couple perched in the booth and went straightaway towards the vulpine. Yet, so did the human at the booth, after the lupine sitting across from him pointed.

Hell broke loose then and there.

"Get security to _Eclipse_ , now," he quietly snarled into his transmitter, then went headlong for Joel. He draped an arm in front of the human as he tried to pass, then in a calm voice said, "Whoa, hold on there, who are you?"

Joel barged through without hesitation. "Hey!" Jona barked, chasing after him. Spencer saw the unfolding scene and backed up a bit, inadvertently bumping into another armored Guardian, who wasted no time in wrestling the vulpine's paws behind his back. Joel hollered in protest, but Jona prevented him from going any further by running his shoulder into him. The duo shoved and grappled with each other—Joel actually put up quite a fight which impressed the large Verian—but Jona came up victorious when he forced the human against the wall, then sequentially took him to the ground.

"Get all of them out of here," Jona growled, snapping energy binds to Joel's wrists, then handed off the human to the rest of the Guardians, who also had Skae and Spencer secured. Rubbing sore spots on his arms and neck, Jona beckoned Quina to join up with him, then followed the procession out of the restaurant.

"He's good," Jona remarked to the vixen. "He put up a fight."

"He is a trained operative," Quina remarked. "He may flee, but he'll never lose that training."

Jona smirked and nuzzled up to her, guiding her after the team of Verians and their captives.

"That gives me an idea…"

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

With his clawed fingers digging into his forehead in complete mystification, Commandant Talen stared out of the station control tower overlooking the large docking yard of the VGC's Headquarters. Usually, at this time of the day, the field would be mostly empty to accommodate for usual reparations and cleanings. However, this was not the case.

Out in the massive expanse of tarmac extending outward towards the horizon on three of the four directional viewpoints of the tower—with the last direction being the huge HQ building itself—sat five large Cornerian transport ships, completely surrounded by Verian infantry teams and heavily armored vehicles. However, none of them were hostile at all. What bothered Talen was that all of them were completely submissive and willing to cooperate with the VGC, because they were all civilians. Not a single soldier sat in those massive groups of Cornerians.

"It doesn't make any sense," Talen muttered under his breath. "They're all leaving…"

"Commandant, sir," one of the controllers raised his hand as he spoke, "The last Cornerian transport to dock safely had over two thousand on board."

Talen nearly choked on his breath as that fact slapped him upside the head. "What? Those transports can only accommodate for five hundred!"

"Guardians said there were people crammed inside the quarters, sir," he explained. "They didn't have enough room in the other ships."

"Good grief, there's more?!" Talen gapped. "What's going on?"

The controller shrugged. "Whatever it is, sir, it's not looking good."

The copper Commandant started pacing, his eyes never leaving the transport that had just touched down on the Verian tarmac. "How many does that give us total?"

"So far, we have a total of seven thousand Cornerian refugees, sir," another replied, causing Talen to nearly gag.

"There's no way we can hold all of them…" he mumbled in disbelief. "There's too many… And we might be letting in the wrong people doing this…"

"17th Defense Fleet reports two more Cornerian civilian transporters en route," another controller spoke up from across the room.

Talen's eyebrows suddenly curled downwards as he looked out at the Cornerian refugees spilling out of the large transports, guided into safer conditions by the Verian Guardians. "What the hell is going on?!" he barked, starting to lose his composure until a gentle touch on the shoulder stopped him in his tracks.

"Talen, honey, breathe," Serena said softly, gently rubbing at the dragon's neck.

"This is wrong," he blurted out, his reptilian tail jerking around instead of its usual gentle sway. "We can't keep all of them here. What if we let in an extremist that isn't monitored? We need to go on high security right now."

"They've already called in support," the silver dragoness assured, trying to give her husband that reassurance. "But the real thing we have to worry about is why they're abandoning Corneria like this."

"They're escaping Muzzin's dictatorship," Talen concluded, still seething anger. "That son of a bitch is going to drive that planet into ruin and we can't do anything to stop him."

"The best we can do is accommodate for these people," Serena stated, slowly walking up to one of the floor-to-ceiling windows. "We're saving thousands of people doing this."

"And millions are going to die because of it," Talen growled to himself. "What was your father thinking, opening the borders like this? This is absurd!"

"It's better to have them stay here where they are welcome and safe rather to leave them there to get slaughtered," she spoke with authority, even more so than Talen himself. "Talen, I know this is chaotic, but what else are we supposed to do? We can't leave them out there. It's like the Fichina incident all over again, but this time we can actually provide for the neglected."

"We can't accommodate for almost ten-thousand people like this," Talen sighed, slumping down into his seat while pawing at his forehead again. "Even if we set up a refugee center on base, that won't house everyone."

"Then we need to broaden our options," Serena suggested, grabbing the arm that Talen's transmitter resided on. "Have someone send out a bulletin. We'll pay for peoples' expenses if they house a few Cornerian refugees."

"Do you realize how much money that will cost?" Talen about growled again.

"We're saving lives; money doesn't matter in this situation," Serena retorted. "It's better that we have these innocent people find a place to stay here if they aren't welcome in their own home. It's for the best."

"Fine," Talen grumbled, typing in his request into his interface. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"It's what we need to do," the dragoness repeated. "Corneria isn't the motherland of the LHC anymore. It's falling apart, and you know it. We need to accept that we are these peoples' safe havens now, so we need to be ready for—"

"Another Cornerian transport touching down."

Talen sighed loudly and removed himself from his seat, scurrying up to the main window. "Let's see how many more we can add to our total," he said bitterly, but upon gazing out at the transport in question, his jaw dropped.

Yet another Cornerian transport sat on the tarmac, but this one was in evident disarray. Inky black smoke poured out from one of the main rear engines, and countless burns and singe marks coated the once pristine exterior of the ship. The next thing Talen saw after the VGC teams approached were numerous medical vehicles with their lights flashing. Teams of emergency responders were quick to board the ship as hundreds of Cornerians spilled out.

Talen flushed. "What… the fuck…"

Serena couldn't believe her eyes. "Wait, hold on; they're civilian ships, are they not? Why did we attack them? We didn't authorize fire on those transports!"

Clenching his fists, Talen scowled and responded in the most menacing and irate voice she had ever heard.

"We didn't. That's not our doing."

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

 _Fear on good soul  
Believe me, it's time we move on  
And I thought this a miracle  
But I'll never be the one for shame of feeling you_

 _Stray  
Believe me, it's time we move on  
Fear on good soul  
Believe me, it's time we move on  
And time we stray  
I've never been one  
I've never been one for illusions  
Believe me it's time  
Maybe it's time we stray_

 _*Janus – Stray*_


	21. The Purge (Part 1)

**A/N: April Fools teaser! Trololol! XD**

 **I know I've been slacking on this, and updates have been horrendously lacking even though this story as a whole is drawing to a close, but for some reason I just have little to no drive to finish this. I did manage to get this little half-chapter up, but for now… I don't know when the next part will be. So sorry, but life tends to be a harsh mistress.**

 **I'll see you guys again soon. Hope you enjoy, regardless of the lackluster length.**

* * *

 _Now I don't know about you, but I don't think the primary purpose of your life, of my life, and the entirety of the human race is just to blindly consume to support a failing economy and a faulty system for ever and ever until we run out of every resource and have to resort to blowing each other up to ensure our own survival. I don't think we're supposed to sit by idle while we continue to use a long outdated system that produces war, poverty, collusion, corruption, ruins our environment, and threatens every aspect of our health, and does nothing but divide and segregate us. I don't think how much military equipment we're selling to other countries, how many hydrocarbons we're burning, how much money is being printed and exchanged is a good measure of how healthy our society is._

 _But I do think I can speak for everyone when I say:_

 ** _We're sick of this shit!_**

 _*Enter Shikari – Gandhi Mate, Gandhi*_

* * *

 **Chapter 21: The Purge (Part 1)**

* * *

"Okay, Minister Muzzin, your paperwork has been approved," the politician's personal coyote nurse said, forcing a smile as she approached the wolf. Muzzin's deep yellow eyes opened at the sound of her voice, but a rather nasty scowl followed.

"What are you talking about?" he snapped.

Her ears folded back in submission. "Your reconstructive surgery," she squeaked out. "Our best surgeons said they would be able to rebuild your… uh… destroyed anatomic structure. When they get done, it will be like you were never in here to begin with."

His scowl faded. "Wait, they can fix me?"

"It'll be entirely synthetic, but yes, they can," she answered.

Muzzin couldn't help but lick his chops at that revelation. "Very impressive," he grinned, nodding his head gently. "Could you do me a favor, Miss Carrie?"

Carrie nervously looked around the room, trying to avoid eye contact with the predatory wolf. "Okay…"

"Could you tell the doctors to… maybe add a bit down there?" Muzzin said with a smirk. "I don't want to embarrass myself, but my wife—before those damn humans took her away from me—always said I was a bit too small. Would it be too troublesome to ask them to reconstruct me in a better way, for lack of a better term?"

Blushing, Carrie replied, "Oh, uh, okay. I'll write your request down."

As the coyote scribbled in Muzzin's unabashed request, he snapped his fingers at her.

"Oh, hey, one more thing," the lupine said, gesturing one of his clawed digits towards himself. The nurse's ears couldn't have been more flat as she slowly approached his bedside.

"Yes; sir?" her voice cracked slightly in apparent fear. Muzzin reached out and gingerly grabbed her wrist, but she refused to scream, as much as she wanted to. His thumb caressed the back of her paw as he smiled weakly at her.

"Please, it's Victor," he said with such an inviting tone that it seemed as though a different person had said it from within him. "No need for formalities here, okay?"

Carrie cocked her head at the sheer flip in the red wolf's disposition. "Uh, okay?"

"Here, I want to fill you in on something," Muzzin stated, his yellow eyes wandering around the room in a paranoid and hesitant way, completely contrasting his usual demeanor. Once he figured that the room seemed safe enough, he continued in a hushed voice, "You remind me a lot of my wife, before she passed."

Carrie's icy blue eyes slightly widened. "Oh…?"

Muzzin sighed, acting more vulnerable than he had in quite some time. "Gentle… caring… beautiful… someone I could never replace."

The coyote blushed slightly, suppressing a giggle at the compliment. "Thank you… Victor…"

Muzzin smiled warmly, but again, he only sighed afterward, absentmindedly staring out of his window as he gently held the young nurse's paw. Memories of a better time flashed across his eyes like an old film as he watched the clouds dance across the sky, while the sun slowly crept over the horizon, painting the surroundings in splendid and diverse colors. That sight seemed to breathe reassurance into the injured Minister… or at least a bit of comfort.

"I want it back."

That simple sentence was blurted out so quickly that Carrie barely had time to process it. "What?" she asked intently.

"I want it back," he repeated, forcing his eyes off of the sunrise and onto Carrie's confused expression. "Simple times. Happy times. The calm before those damn humans came in and fucked everything up."

Carrie stayed silent out of respect, but a little grin crept onto one side of her muzzle to insist that he continue.

Muzzin shut his eyes as he let his head fall into his pillow. "It really hit me when all of the pain medications wore off," he continued in a soft, weakened voice. "I realized how close I was to bleeding out earlier this week... How close I was to dying… Yet, it wasn't myself I was worried about. For the first time, I didn't worry about myself… I thought of my family. …Of all the things I could have thought about, my wind wandered back to them…"

A single, tiny tear fell down his cheek, so small that the nurse almost failed to notice it.

"I want them back," he said, his voice beginning to quiver. "They brought me ease. Peace of mind. They provided a calm to my strained nerves. Those first two years I held in office were perfect because I knew that I had a loving wife and a young son to come home to. I loved them, just like I loved my people when I took office…

"…Was I a hero? My son thought I was, but in some people's minds, I was too. Am I perfect? Absolutely not. But at least I know that there are some things that are worth fighting for in life, and if I can't fight for my family anymore, I'll fight for the people who idolize me as if _I_ am their father."

Muzzin finally opened his eyes to his nurse, completely glazed over with tears. "I honestly feel regret in my selfish acts towards the people who revered me. They trusted me to get them out of the age of the First Contact, and I couldn't let that incident down. My wife and son were gone because of them. Yet… they were two drops into a lake of people that perished. I couldn't let that tragedy leave my office for one second because of how terribly it affected us. I firmly believe that got us in the hot water we're in now… all because I can't get out of the past anymore."

His grip on Carrie's paw tightened. "I want to get out of the past, Carrie. I want to put everything behind me, become a new leader… regain my people's trust. I know I've done way too many awful and selfish acts to completely regain my people's approval, but the least I can do is turn a new page and attempt to reconstruct this failing coalition. I want to reaffirm my people's loyalty… keep those who are loyal and wish to continue to be loyal to the coalition… and purge those who still resent me, and hate me even through all I have sacrificed."

Carrie, truthfully, didn't know how to respond.

"I know how to restart the diplomatic side of my life," he commented, a weak, tentative grin creeping up on his muzzle as he fought the urge to lick his lips. "But restarting my personal life will take years to reform, and I can't do it alone. Like I told you, Carrie, you remind me of my late wife… and I loved her very much. …Do you understand where I am going with this?"

Carrie couldn't help but blush again. "I think I do," she said with a bit of a lighthearted giggle.

"Will you walk with me through this new chapter?" Muzzin asked with sincerity. "Not as a crutch, but as a partner. Someone I can go to when times are hard. I don't want to try to influence you, but this should be a great honor for you. Think about it… you'll be the most powerful woman in the system."

Carrie giggled and pulled her arm free. "On one condition," she said with a slight tone of playful teasing, something Muzzin caught and instantly smirked at. "I want you to promise me a few things."

"Anything," he said intently. "Name your price."

"First thing; if I'm going to be your second in command, I want to be treated that way. Pay, respect, power, and anything else."

Muzzin nodded his head. "And…?"

She shot Muzzin a devilish smirk. "Second… I can see that you love me, but if you want me to love you back, you'll need to prove yourself capable of love again. I'm not trying to be mean and exploit you, Victor; I'm just… I need time with it, okay?"

"I understand," the lupine gently smiled. "You're still young. A lot younger than me. And I understand that I got you in a weird situation. You're trying to test the waters, no?"

"Right," Carrie answered, her voice hitting a more vulnerable pitch. "I mean… I've never had anybody tell me that I mean so much to them."

"You saved my life, Carrie," Muzzin politely interrupted. "I shouldn't have lived. I owe my life to you."

Carrie smiled sheepishly. "Please, I'm just your nurse."

"But you comforted me, the dick of a person I was," he assured her. "You did things nobody would even dare to do, and that's why I fell in love with you. You may not feel the same, and I respect you if you don't feel that way, but… I'd be willing to work with you. Would that be okay?"

"Yes," she grinned. "That will be okay."

Muzzin bit his lip to keep himself from shedding tears. "Thank you."

Carrie felt his heartfelt emotion. It was strong. Very strong. It was as if the years of pent up emotions after the events of the First Contact suddenly broke loose like a broken dam. Never had she seen him so vulnerable. So… _Cornerian_. He finally seemed to step off his pedestal of self-proclaimed infallibility as head of the LHC and assumed a more mortal mindset… something the LHC needed instead of an ambitious, power hungry leader. Now, he was far from perfect, but he finally showed a little sense of empathy, even beneath the cruel leader he became.

"I want to apologize," Muzzin sighed. "But they won't take it. Not unless I step down. But Lylat isn't ready for an election. Not now… war is looming, and a political scene will only cause more chaos. I need to rewrite my legacy… I need to rewrite my name."

He turned his muzzle up to her and let a warm smile surface. "What a better time than now, no?"

Carrie merely nodded, smiling back.

"Was there something else?" he asked. "Something else you needed?"

"Yes," the coyote said, kneeling down by his bedside. "I want you to promise me that we'll never go to war with Veris. Ever."

Muzzin nodded without any hesitation. "Don't worry, my dear. I'll try to make amends. It only seems—"

The red wolf suddenly gasped, flushing pale as his heart rate monitors suddenly spiked.

"Shit! The Destroyers!"

* * *

 **\/##########\/**

* * *

The air in the interview room felt as tense as a string threatening to snap under all of the overwhelming force.

The room Joel, Skae, and Spencer were confined to was comprised of a gunmetal gray with tightly woven carpet so course it almost felt like twine on a scratching post. The two Fichinians and solitary human sat bound to the table in the center of the room; two of the three casting glares at the vulpine in the room.

"This is your fault Spencer," Skae seethed, causing the vulpine's ears to fold flat against his head. "If you didn't fly off the handle we wouldn't be here. We were almost home free. We were trying to run you—"

"Easy Skae," Joel tried to calm his lupine mate. "After what his teammates made him do, on top of the psychic abuse he was going through, it really couldn't be helped. I personally don't blame him, even if he killed one of my best friends."

Again, a glare was cast his way, but he stayed silent and kept his head down

"Easy for you to say," the she-wolf growled though her teeth, but didn't challenge Joel. "They probably would have ignored us if you would've just stayed away from him."

"Hey, you pointed him out," Joel argued. "I'm not taking the blame here."

"You should've just stayed at the table and let Spencer rat us out," Skae said with a bitter tone directed at the vulpine. "At least we might've had a chance to escape. Now we're dead."

"Don't say that," Joel interrupted. "Just let me find a way out of this. I'll try to—"

The door suddenly hissed open, casting a wide glare of light to wash over the trio. A shadow partially blocked out that bright illumination, but before they could see the shadow printed against the ground, the door shut behind the figure. The moment Skae saw the rank on the Verian's chest, in addition to the royal crest adorning his set of armor, she knew that they were all screwed beyond help.

"I trust the yellow-necks weren't too rough on you," Knight Captain Falx spoke, mixing an honest, yet sarcastic tone to try to eliminate a chunk of the visible hostility. "Now, where to begin with you three…"

All of them refused to answer as Jona thought to himself.

"Well, first thing I want to know is what the hell were _you_ _two_ thinking?" Jona asked with a slight sneer, staring directly at the two insurgents with a glare that would paralyze a normal person in fear. "And I don't want to hear that shit of your name, rank, birthday, and identification number. Instead, I'll introduce your face to this table; First Lieutenant Joel McClellan — ID number 432-35-1187."

Joel's eyes exploded out of his skull. "How…?"

"You would be surprised how useful technology can be when applied correctly and respectfully," Jona answered with a smirk. "Your face, retina, fingerprints, and voice are all identification marks. They make for a great way to put a given name to a given face without having to result to more… _degrading_ means of interrogation."

"You've hacked Torus…" Joel spat in disbelief.

"Well, if your race is going to build an orbital base, next time don't base it off of Verian architecture and circuitry, because that's just begging for us to get involved," Jona smiled knowingly. "You claim that Torus is impenetrable. Yes, I agree, but against the wrong people, my friend, Torus is nothing more than a bump in our road. Now we basically know of almost every living being of your world, and everything about your world in general."

After a pause, the Guardian added, "Now… We already know of your mission in Lylat, but I want to hear it from you first-hand, if you don't mind. I seem to recall you saying you would like to reconcile for your transgressions, so go ahead and start now while I'm in a good mood."

"Revenge…" Joel uttered. "Mounting a counter-attack on Corneria to make them pay for what they did to us." He hung his head in shame. "We just wanted to teach them a lesson, and we failed… we just made things worse."

Jona nodded and hummed in accordance. "And you, Miss Skae?" he asked, his tone remaining even. "My grandfather tried to keep the transports consistent. What went wrong?"

"I just wanted to kill Muzzin," Skae admitted through clenched teeth. "Avenge my parents… avenge my neighbors and friends... …I wanted Muzzin to suffer as we had suffered…"

"Revenge has no place in life," Jona informed them, his tone suddenly becoming very stern and authoritative despite being level and rather calm. "Killing because someone has wronged you is senseless. Those that die in the name of vengeance die a pointless and meaningless death. Vengeance fuels rage, anger and hatred; taking somebody far from the righteous path. If your mission would have been a success, your actions would have endangered the lives of millions… _billions_ living in this system. All for what? Revenge for the unjust deaths of a large portion of your village, or a wrongful attack on your home?"

Jona took a breath and walked around the table. "You two forget your true duties as soldiers. You don't fight for yourselves! You don't fight for countries, flags, generals, or presidents; and certainly not for vengeance! Your duty, no matter where you came from, what your skin is made of, or what you fight for, the **_people_** is what you're supposed to be protecting!"

His anger started to lace his tone. "Did you even know what you were doing was wrong before you even did it?"

"I was following orders," Joel murmured. "I knew attacking Cerinia was the wrong call, but I didn't realize it until after we did it. It was all that damn Verian Aeon's fault!"

"Joel…" Skae whispered.

"He's the true reason for all this hell!" he started to rage, but Jona started to chuckle, inadvertently irritating him even more. "And what the fuck is so funny, huh?"

"Aeon Darkon, my paternal half-brother, is dead," Jona informed them. "He was killed in a raid on Papetoon, along with his entire circle of advisors. And personally, I'm glad he's dead. Even if his ideals were not of his own right mind, it's one less thorn in my grandfather's side, and my own for that matter."

Joel just growled at him. "What, do you think this is some kind of cruel joke?" he snapped, referencing Jona's vague, sarcasm-laced voice. "Your brother caused almost my entire squad to die! You think that's funny, _scalie_?

Ignoring the derogatory term, Jona rebuked, "Aeon directed you to attack Cerinia, a world that is even more underdeveloped than your own." Smirking at his own fire-back, he continued, "He did that to try to manipulate us into attacking Corneria, but it seems that you failed to realize who you were trying to antagonize. You failed to realize how many of us vowed to protect that planet and its inhabitants with our lives, and had those vows broken because of the actions of a barbaric, primitive race."

Anger returning in Jona's voice, the Verian ranted, "You antagonized Veris Alpha, and if that wasn't bad enough, you antagonized Prince Jona Halrand-Falx, someone who holds the Cerinian race deep within his heart. You murdered two of my charges. Your men raped and killed innocent women, burned their village, slaughtered men, women, children, elderly; all innocent people that had nothing to do with the war between you and Corneria six years ago. You killed my mentor, nearly killed my mate, and hurt my only remaining charge in a way that I cannot fix, all because _you_ wanted revenge on someone who misleadingly wronged you?! Do you realize how **_absurd_** this sounds?!"

After a brief pause to calm himself down, Jona sighed, "By attacking Cerinia, you violated their laws, ours, the Cornerians, and your own; and you don't want to know how bad of a résumé you put together in just these short two weeks." He lifted his forearm up and started reading the display on his TRCS, "As per the your Uniform Code of Military Justice—and yes, before you ask Lieutenant, I researched it—you and your squad have personally violated several articles in your original failed attempt to frame Corneria. The articles that have my attention are 102, 109, 118 and 128 to name a few."

"I'm also guilty of a few 134s." Joel deadpanned, which earned him a glare from Jona and a somewhat confused look from Skae.

"Care to enlighten her Lieutenant?" Jona said with a slightly taunting tone.

Joel moaned and looked over to his girlfriend. "102: Forcing a safeguard; basically attacking the Cerinians, engaging them and neutralizing that Guardian—"

" _That Guardian_ was Knight Commander Roja Griess, Commanding Officer of the local protection garrison," Jona interrupted. "My mentor, as well as a husband to a Cerinian wife and a father of three—one of which will grow up never even meeting him. I hope that alone makes you realize what horrid acts you have committed, and will allow for a true change of heart, if _I'll_ even allow it."

Jona shook his head after a brief pause. "Continue, Terran."

At the prompt the soldier continued, "109: waste, spoilage, or destruction of property other than the property of the Earth military. We did destroy quite a few things over there. Killed quite a few people too."

"A _few_ ," Jona scoffed. "Don't even make me retrieve the list of the hundreds of Cerinians that were slaughtered at your hands. In short, _all_ of them had some sort of family they left behind."

Joel sighed in overwhelming grief and humility, continuing against his will. "Article 118 and 128, murder and assault respectively… I think that goes without saying."

"And 134?" Skae asked.

"Violation of general regulations. Basically, that can be anything that's considered a disorder to the order and integrity of the military services."

The room went silent when he finished. But Spencer started to whimper as tears streamed down his face; his guilt all too evident. Jona noticed his overwhelming psychological pain and stepped behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Spencer here knew what he was doing was wrong before you two realized it," Jona said with a tone of reassurance. "Though your team forced him against his morals, urging him to rape a Cerinian vixen, he had no malice against the Cerinians, which I believe is pardonable. But, only by one specific request from the vixen in question."

"What?" Spencer whimpered in submission.

"She wishes to meet you, Mr. Frost," the dragon spoke with a soft smile. "Her name is Lisa, by the way. Very beautiful, very young vixen. Usually Cerinian women wait until they're past their age of dependence to request to bare kits, but since your actions impregnated her at the young age of fifteen, she was forced to make an exception, as they believe contraception is an action punishable by cursing and execution. But, when I talked to her when you called to arrange this meeting, she told me that she knew that you were pushed to do it… that's why she didn't resist."

"She… doesn't blame me?" Spencer asked in a feeble tone.

"She blames you for getting her pregnant," Jona reiterated. "But she doesn't blame you for what you did. A telepath can always tell. But, I'd suggest arranging an apology for her, forcing her to grow up at a young age and all. And I'd be willing to bet that she wishes for you to help her take care of the baby. If you agree, I'll drop your charges of manslaughter and let you go free, but with constant monitoring, obviously."

"I'll do it," Spencer blurted out without hesitation. "It's the least I can do. Thank you, Captain."

Jona nodded at him, traveling around the table to face Joel and Skae from the opposite side. "Ordinarily you two would be executed for such a radical act of terrorism and willfully collaborating with a known enemy of the kingdom," he said at the couple, a frown creasing his snout. "Sending _you_ home, Lieutenant, would be a death sentence too, for both your parents have been made aware of your transgressions, and even if your mother is the head of your government, she can't hide the fact that her son is a murderer. You, Skae, were acting as a separatist; Muzzin would execute you on the spot."

"We're fucked either way," Joel grumbled.

"Not necessarily," Jona countered. "The thing that is keeping me from making this all too easy decision is your change of heart. A Verian can interpret that change in mental aura… determine if it is genuine. I do admire the fact that you two overcame the xenophobic shroud clouding your inner judgement, a sign of true understanding in this conflict. Since you two repeatedly said that you wish to reconcile for the wrongs you've done, I'm willing to give you two an option. Should you choose to accept it is all up to your decision."

The newly mated couple looked to each other, Joel gave a nod. "What are your terms?"

"You both have a lengthy blood debt," Jona announced, resting his hands on the table. "But your skill should not be wasted on the wrong side of morality. I would be willing to take you two under my wing and form a task force with my closest friends and advisors. Our combined knowledge in our specific combat fields could be a turning point in the conflict. You can redeem yourselves."

Jona took a breath and added, "You'll be treated equally and will receive a portion of pay for your service, but I cannot discharge you until it is deemed that your blood debt to the Cerinians and the Cornerians is repaid."

"And if we refuse?" Joel dared to ask.

Jona's expression became grim. "You, Lieutenant, will be executed either by the Cerinians or your own government. I cannot change that sentence. Your mate, Skae, will be executed or sterilized."

Skae yipped and paled at the last bit of information. Joel noticed her reaction, as he knew that sterilization was a fate worse than death for a female; being used as a toy and all.

"Joel," the she-wolf squeaked, gently shaking her head at him. "Don't let them… please…"

Skae's heartfelt plea was quite an influential marker in Joel's decision, but this was something completely different. At first he and Skae were just going to run away and abandon their cause, but if they accepted they would be going completely against their cause. Treason; something Joel swore on his life never to break. He was stretching it in his decision to flee, but fighting against his own military?

Joel looked at Skae with trembling eyes. "Skae, I…"

"You're not considering against it, are you?" she whimpered.

"It's my family," Joel whispered.

"Joel, _I'm_ your family now," Skae argued softly. "Your parents will kill us if we get sent back. I want to stay. I'll repay my debt." She turned to Jona, repeating, "I'll repay my debt. I accept."

Jona nodded. "And you, Joel? Surely you want to stay by your mate's side?"

"I don't want to leave her," Joel admitted. "But I need more time to think."

"Fair enough," Jona grunted, backing away from the table. "I'll be back in a few minutes to check on you. I do expect an answer when I get back, Lieutenant."

Joel nodded in affirmation.

"In the meantime, Spencer, let's—"

Jona stopped himself when the floor beneath him shook with enough ferocity to knock him off balance. Several alarms immediately began to blare throughout the station as yet another bout of rocking almost threw Jona off of his feet. Snarling to himself as the shaking subsided, Jona growled something indistinguishable in a Verian language into his transmitter; the same language responding.

"What's going on?" Skae whimpered.

Jona glared at the human bound at the table, a new fire brewing in his blood red irises.

"I think your father just declared you a liability, Joel."


	22. Screw It

_Foot in mouth and head up ass  
So whatcha talkin' 'bout?  
Difficult to dance 'round this one  
'Til you pull it out, boy  
You must have been so high  
You must have been so high  
Steal, borrow, refer, save your shady inference  
Kangaroo done hung the juror with the innocent_

 _Now you're weeping shades of cozened indigo  
Got lemon juice up in your eye  
When you pissed all over my black kettle  
You must have been high, high  
You must have been high, high_

 _Who are you to wave your finger?  
So full of it!  
Eyeballs deep in muddy water  
Fuckin' hypocrite!  
Liar, lawyer, mirror show me what's the difference?  
Kangaroo done hung the guilty with the innocent_

 _Now you're weeping shades of cozened indigo  
Got lemon juice up in your eye, eye!  
When you pissed all over my black kettle  
You must've been…_

 _*Tool – The Pot*_

* * *

 **Chapter 22: Screw It**

* * *

Well, I'm not the first to admit I screwed up. Yet, it started so promising. What went wrong?

Of course, I'm talking about Veria, obviously. Why else would I be typing out a long, heartfelt note posing as a long-awaited chapter? Well, there's a simple answer to that, yet it's not an easy thing to say though. I'll try to be clear and concise. Just so you know, there isn't any story content in here, so if you only came to see the next chapter, sorry to disappoint. But, I highly advise you stick around so that you can see what the future entails.

Where to start? Well, let's go back to the source off all issues. Numerous reviewers have pointed this out to me, and I think I've been ignorant of the issue long enough. But, before I go into the specifics, I feel the need to give my side of… this.

I'm just gonna throw this out in the open: First Contact wasn't supposed to continue as long as it did. This sequel, in my honest opinion, has overstayed its welcome. At first, it was a huge hit, and people were on board and excited to see how a sequel would go. I was excited too. The first five, maybe ten or so chapters were flowing and I really didn't have any issues with it. But, that's what I wanted you to think. Sure, the opening chapters were the best because I was working on them while First Contact was still winding down, and you know me: I love to work on opening chapters more than the body. Veria in and of itself looked extremely promising on paper. I was excited to see how people would react to such an offshoot in the archive, because I hadn't seen another original, intricate, and diverse race implemented into a story before.

But, now that the layer of excitement has faded for most, if not all of those still reading, I've realized that I've been horribly mistaken. People were excited for the Verians, but now it's becoming painfully obvious that most of my viewers are not on board with their presence, therefore rendering Veria unreadable. That, in a generalized nutshell, is a synopsis of a message I got from my very first reviewer of First Contact. Just so you guys know, that was my very first review EVER. I held it dear to me even if it wasn't outright praise, just mere constructive criticism and advice. Since then, he's reviewed almost every single chapter of First Contact and Veria, up until a few chapters ago. I got the message a day or two ago; he basically told me he had no interest anymore. It was devastating. Sure, it was one less person, but it was one less active reviewer, and one less fan—the FIRST fan! Now, I know I may be overreacting for one loss, but for me this is a big deal!

As someone who was contemplating the effectiveness of Veria's appeal for months now, this took a cinderblock to it. And it's not just that: viewership as a total has just dropped into the metaphorical toilet. Now, I don't mean to boast, but at the peak of First Contact, it was racking up over three hundred views DAILY! Now, I know those are high standards, but as a whole, Veria's chapters have been getting a tiny fraction. I'm lucky to break 100 views on a chapter in its entirety anymore. And for a story that is causing so much stress to carefully plan out and make sure that I don't lose any more of my already diminishing following of it with one wrong scene, I don't see a purpose in it.

I'm going back to some reviews. Generally, the same people have been reviewing each and every chapter with words of encouragement and high thoughts. I thought this was a good thing and thought that WhiteWolf, Haygood, and I were taking it in the right direction. Now, I always say that the reviews are essential to my stories because, evidently, the lack of feedback caused me to take this in the wrong direction. I like the "good work on this chapter, can't wait for the next one" reviews, but that doesn't tell me anything! Aside from flaming, those are the most useless and counterproductive reviews one can get, at least for me that is.

Enter SHIELD. I affectionately call his review a "nuke" basically because he completely shattered my immediate perception of Veria. And I couldn't thank him enough for doing it. He picked away at everything wrong with this story. He said how this wasn't the best idea, and right now, I totally agree with him! His blunt review helped me realize that this was a horrid mistake on my part! First Contact shouldn't have gone any further than the final chapter on the original installment!

Now, WhiteWolf, if you're reading this, I'm so sorry. Veris and everything about it was a phenomenal idea, and I can't thank you enough for copiloting, but… now that I think about it, it really doesn't have a home in First Contact anymore. We're already dealing with two different races, but throw in a third and you get a clusterfuck on top of an already clustered story. Veria is great in Darkest of Stars and Recon, but I think this wasn't the best place to have them included.

In fact, the entire basis of this story is flawed, and unlike First Contact, I have no desire to complete or rework this. Seriously; if it wasn't for the contests, _Another Station_ , or the countless ideas swimming in my head, I wouldn't have had any motivation to write, let alone churn out a Veria chapter when I knew from about halfway in that it was taking a turn for the worst. Veria almost caused the death of my writing, as forced as it sounds. SHIELD accurately transcribed everything wrong with Veria, and please, you guys need to check that review out because it's dead serious, and damn is it true.

So, that being said, it's with a heavy heart and a hit of bitterness on my tongue that I say that from here on out, Veria is cancelled and is no longer considered canon in the First Contact storyline. You will not see another Veria chapter again.

I know I left it on a huge cliffhanger, but everything resolving it from the plans I still have would have invoked more rage, indifference, and malice from my readers, as if it hasn't already. I've lost enough of my viewership as is, and it's really not worth it to continue this trainwreck. I always criticize First Contact for being horrid, but in my honest opinion, it's a hell of a lot better than this…

…which is why I'm going to do the right thing soon enough…

If anyone wants to talk to me about my overall reasoning behind the cancellation, or **just want to sap the rest of the story's intended plans that I can give out upon request** , please send me a message. I'll try to be prompt in replying.

Thanks to all that still stuck with me and this story for so long, but now it's time to move on, as Johnwolf said. If you and SHIELD are reading this, thanks to both of you. You made my tough decision all that easier. And Johnwolf especially, I'm sorry for killing your interest. Hopefully you can find the interest back soon enough. You'll see what I mean soon.

Thanks to all of you guys once again. And please, stay tuned. I'm not ending this series on a sour note, that's for damn sure.

—Sheppard

* * *

 _Identities assume us  
As nine and five add up  
Synchronizing watches  
To the seconds that we lost  
I looked up and saw you  
I know that you saw me  
We froze but for a moment  
In empathy_

 _I brought down the sky for you but all you did was shrug  
You gave my emptiness a name  
But you ran away  
Now all my friends are gone  
Maybe we've outgrown all the things that we once loved  
Runaway  
But what are we running from?  
A show of hands from those in this audience of one  
Where have they gone?_

 _*Rise Against – Audience of One*_


End file.
